On Wednesday, Republican Pennsylvania Senate candidate Mehmet Oz's communications director criticized Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman for agreeing to a debate without naming a time or location.
Let us be clear: the campaign for Dr. Oz will not agree to participate in a CONFIDENTIAL debate. It must be a REAL one, with REAL journalists asking REAL questions, and it must take place in a REAL setting. I'm sorry, John, but disputes in your head don't count. According to CNN, the statement was made by Brittany Yanick, who serves as the communications director for Oz.
In an interview that was published earlier on Wednesday with Politico, Fetterman expressed his willingness to participate in the debate. The Democratic candidate stated in the interview that they would definitely be debating Dr. Oz and that it had truly always been our desire to do that. Only the residual difficulties in auditory processing after the stroke needed to be addressed, and they are easily remedied.
According to the interview, Fetterman stated that he anticipates the debate will take place "sometime in the middle to end of October." Fetterman had a stroke in May and has continued to struggle with slurred speech during recent public appearances.
After getting back out on the campaign trail on August 12, Fetterman declined Oz's offer to participate in a debate series consisting of five separate events. On the 30th of August, Fetterman withdrew from yet another televised discussion that was supposed to take place on the 6th of September. In response, Yannick referred to Fetterman as a liar, a leftist, and a coward, while Fetterman attacked Oz for mocking somebody that's struggling with a significant physical condition in an interview with Politico.
Senator @PatToomey Doubts That Fetterman Is Up To The Job:https://t.co/tKkK7PkDLz
— Dr. Mehmet Oz (@DrOz) September 6, 2022
The Oz campaign isn't the only one to imply that Fetterman's capacity to carry out the responsibilities of the position he's running for would be affected by the stroke he had. If Fetterman is not well enough to debate his opponent, it raises serious issues about his capability to serve as a United States senator, the editorial board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette stated on Monday, that raises severe doubts about his ability to serve in that capacity.
Pat Toomey, a Republican senator from Pennsylvania who is leaving office, said on Tuesday that while he was not empathetic to Fetterman's position, the would-be senator will not be able to do the job if he cannot communicate properly.
Throughout the entirety of the campaign, Fetterman has maintained a polling lead over Oz. The Cook Political Report changed their rating of the Pennsylvania Senate race on August 18, moving it from "toss-up" to "lean Democrat."
According to NBC News, the candidates for the Senate seat in Pennsylvania participated in general election debates twice each in both 2016 and 2018.
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on Headline USA.
