Democratic Senate nominee John Fetterman gave an interview from home in which he predicted he would be “a lot better” after suffering a stroke and described how he sometimes relies on transcription to better process speech .
“I don’t think it’s going to have an impact,” said Fetterman, who was fighting in a brutal race against Trump-backed Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz is involved.
“I feel like I’m getting better and better – every day. And in January I’m going [to] be, you know, much better. and dr Oz will still be a cheater,” he said, slamming the opponent, who his media team has mocked as a carpet digger with ads and billboards.
Fetterman spoke from behind a desk in his home, occasionally glancing at a large Mac computer monitor. A camera showed her posting subtitles of what was said during the interview almost simultaneously.
Fetterman “stuttered occasionally and had trouble finding words,” says Fetterman ABCwhose reporters sat down with the lieutenant governor during a key part of his race, with Oz moving closer to Fetterman in pre-election polls.
“I’ll go until January [to] be, you know, much better,” Pennsylvania Lt. gov. John Fetterman, recovering from the effects of a stroke
Fetterman said the captions help him better respond to questions in real time.
“Sometimes I hear things in a way that’s not entirely clear. So I use subtitles so I can see what you’re saying in the subtitles,” Fetterman said.
When asked how the recovery process has changed his daily life, he replied, “It changes everything. Everything about it is changed. Basically a conversation with your wife, a conversation with your children. The ability to really understand exactly what you hear, especially early after the stroke. But it gets way, way better where I record a lot.
Fetterman jumped off the campaign trail after suffering a stroke outside his elementary school, and then held his first campaign rally in August.
During the interview, Fetterman struggled with the word “empathic,” sometimes saying it as “emphatic,” citing the mistake as an example of the lasting effect of the stroke.
Fetterman occasionally glanced at a screen showing closed captions during the NBC interview
Admitting challenges, he added: “But it gets much, much better if I record a lot. But to be precise, I use subtitles, so that’s really the Maijing – that’s the biggest challenge. And every now and then I miss a word. Now and again. Or sometimes I might mix two words together. But as long as I have subtitles I can understand exactly what is being asked.”
A transcript of his NBC interview, in which he was asked if finding language was difficult, reveals some of his challenges. The video will air on NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt.
“No, I don’t think it was difficult. It was just about having to think more, uh, sl, uh – slower – just to understand, and that sometimes that’s a kind of processing,” he said.
President Joe Biden will hold a gated fundraiser with Fetterman later this month
Former President Donald Trump endorsed Dr. oz
Fetterman continues to find it difficult “to process what he’s hearing,” according to a New York Magazine cover story of Keystone State’s highest-stakes Senate race.
Author Rebecca Traister reported that she used Google Meet software to interview Fetterman so he could use the closed captions feature to read and answer her questions in real time as the Democratic lieutenant governor recovers from his stroke in May .
While the profile focuses on Fetterman, Traister also had some interactions with Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz, among others, when asking about the explosive Jezebel report released last week that allegedly more than 300 dogs, including puppies, were killed as a result of medical experiments in Columbia under Oz’s supervision.
“Suppose you were the dumbest person in the world. Now suppose you are a reporter for New York Magazine. But I’m repeating myself,” an Oz spokesperson told Traister.
The Oz spokesman did not deny the allegations about the dead puppies.
A new New York Magazine profile of Lt. gov. John Fetterman, who is vying for the open Pennsylvania Senate seat, chronicles his stroke recovery, with the author interviewing the Democrat using Google Meet because he’s still having trouble processing what he’s hearing
Writer Rebecca Traister also reveals that a Republican Senate spokeswoman, Dr. Mehmet Oz equated her with “the dumbest person alive” when she asked about a blockbuster Jezebel report that said Oz’s medical experiments had killed hundreds of dogs
Fetterman told Traister that while he was “deeply grateful” to be recovering from the stroke he suffered just days before the Pennsylvania Democratic primary, “to be running for Senate, in the biggest race in the country, and at the same time.” However, having to recover is unprecedented.’
Doctors have said that Fetterman’s cognitive abilities were not damaged by the stroke, but his ability to understand what people are saying was affected.
Traister described her conversation with Fetterman as “clear and lively, eloquent about the stakes of the race and outraged by the evil tenor of Oz’s campaign”.
She also noted that there were “moments when his syntax became distorted or he had trouble getting a word out”.
“I really can’t hide it even if I wanted to,” Fetterman said.
In another instance, Fetterman struggled to say the word “documented” and instead said things like “domicated” and “domentated.”
“Here’s the stroke,” he said to Traister before he took a breath and was “documented.”
Traister wrote that it was “not an open question” that Fetterman couldn’t process what he heard quickly.
“He’s not very good at it yet, so he needs subtitles for interviews and the upcoming debate,” she said.
Oz’s campaign has gone public directly – and through proxies and media allies – that Fetterman’s health is worse than he says – and that he may not be up to the task of being a United States Senator.
Tucker Carlson, for example, called the Democrat “brain damaged” and said he “can barely speak.”
Carlson also ridiculed Fetterman’s distinctive look, saying he had “silly little fake tattoos” and suggesting it was fake like a “Brooklyn barista who dresses like a lumberjack.”
Incumbent Republican Senator Pat Toomey held a press conference alongside Oz last month in which he said Fetterman “wouldn’t be able to get the job done” unless he was able to “communicate effectively.”
“Standing in front of 3,000 people and having to talk without a teleprompter or something? It’s the purest example of transparency there is,” Fetterman told Traister, fending off the attacks.
Like the memes and stunts — like raising a banner over Jersey Shore vacationers, many of whom are Pennsylvania natives, welcoming Oz home — Fetterman has used humor to make Pennsylvanians more comfortable recovering from his stroke.
At a rally in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in September, Fetterman taunted Oz for blaming President Joe Biden for the closure of Bethlehem Steel — something that happened 27 years ago.
“And I’m the one who had the stroke!” said Fettman.
He also told the crowd, “I guarantee you there’s at least one person in this audience who’s going to film me hoping I’ll miss words, that I’ll throw two words together.”
He stopped.
“Such an inspiring campaign he’s running, isn’t he?” Fetterman said of Oz.