John Fetterman, Mehmet Oz.Photo: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Bonnie Biess/Getty
Pennsylvania Senate candidatesJohn FettermanandDr. Mehmet Ozwill face off inhotly anticipated debateTuesday night — the first (and likely only) time the political rivals will appear on stage together ahead of next month’s midterm elections.
The debate plans had been up in the air as Fetterman continues to recover from a stroke, which hesuffered justdays before Pennsylvania’s Democratic primary in May.
The stroke has figured prominently into the campaign — both due to Fetterman’s recovery and due to the Oz campaign’s use of the medical episode as political fodder.
After the Democrat’s stroke, he underwent a procedure to implant a pacemaker with a defibrillator. His doctor laterrevealedhe has atrial fibrillation, which caused the stroke, and cardiomyopathy, which is why he got the implant.
Earlier this month, Fettermanreturned to the campaign trailand told supporters he was “grateful” and “feeling great, better than I have in years” in an emotional speech.
“If John Fetterman had ever eaten a vegetable in his life, then maybe he wouldn’t have had a major stroke and wouldn’t be in the position of having to lie about it constantly,” Rachel Tripp, Oz’s senior communications adviser,told Insider in an interview.
Fetterman responded to the Oz campaign’s swipe at his stroke in apost on Twitter, writing: “I had a stroke. I survived it. I’m truly so grateful to still be here today. I know politics can be nasty, but even then, I could never imagine ridiculing someone for their health challenges.”
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Tuesday’s debate will feature closed captioning for Fetterman, who said in a recent NBC News interview, “I sometimes will hear things in a way that’s not perfectly clear. So I use captioning so I’m able to see what you’re saying on the captioning.”
The debate between Fetterman and Oz will be broadcast across Pennsylvania beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
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source: people.com
