John Fetterman’s Wife To Media: ‘No Interviews!’
The strange and faltering campaign of John Fetterman for the open Senate seat available from Pennsylvania in next month’s election has taken new turns this week. Most of the concerns about Fetterman that don’t involve his wacky far-left policy ideas center on his unclear medical condition. Now, his wife, Gisele Fetterman, has emerged as a sort of junior “Dr.” Jill Biden in steering John away from potentially embarrassing situations.
As the Fettermans were preparing to listen to a speech by Joe Biden on Thursday regarding the construction of a local bridge, a reporter attempted to ask John Fetterman if he was satisfied with progress on the project. At that point, Gisele jumped in and made it clear that her husband was not present to “do interviews.”
In the only interview Fetterman has given in recent weeks, his team insisted that he be provided the ability to see the questions being asked of him on a computer screen in the nature of closed captions on television. The campaign said that he needed the visual aid to process information due to lingering auditory problems that resulted from the major stroke he suffered earlier this year.
Immediately after that interview, Gisele hammered the NBC News reporter who dared to say she believed the candidate was having difficulty understanding small talk not displayed on a screen before the interview began. Gisele demanded that the reporter be punished.
In an effort to satisfy voters and the media regarding his medical condition, the Fetterman campaign released a medical report on Wednesday from Dr. Clifford Chen of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The report said Fetterman “is recovering well from his stroke and his health has continued to improve.”
The doctor’s letter also characterized the candidate’s speech as “normal” and added that his “communication is significantly improved” since the stroke. Chen said Fetterman “has no work restrictions and can work full duty in public office.”
Reports later indicated that Dr. Chen has donated at least $1,330 to Fetterman’s Senate campaign in the last year. Federal Election Commission reports show that he made at least three separate donations between July and September. Chen has also donated regularly to the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and a number of other Democratic candidates for Senate seats around the country.
The latest projection from RealClearPolitics has Fetterman’s Republican opponent, Dr. Mehmet Oz, taking the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA). Oz is now projected to win the race by 2.4 percentage points after trailing by double digits in some polls conducted in the summer.
