The reviews are in for John Fetterman after last night’s one and only Pennsylvania Senate debate, and they are… bad. Here’s what they’re saying after Fetterman’s rocky performance that is shaking up this key race:
- Philadelphia Inquirer: “Fetterman declines to pledge to release medical records” (“Fetterman declines to pledge to release medical records,” Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/25/22)
- Politico: “Fetterman struggles during TV debate with Oz” (Holly Otterbein, “Fetterman struggles during TV debate with Oz,” Politico, 10/25/22)
- New York Times: “Fetterman, Showing Stroke Effects, Battles Oz in Hostile Senate Debate” (“Fetterman, Showing Stroke Effects, Battles Oz in Hostile Senate Debate,” New York Times, 10/25/22)
- Axios: “Fetterman’s painful debate” (Josh Kraushaar, “Fetterman’s painful debate,” Axios, 10/26/22)
- Politico’s Playbook: “Let’s state the obvious: JOHN FETTERMAN struggled to effectively communicate during his one and only Senate debate with MEHMET OZ Tuesday in Harrisburg.” (Ryan Lizza and Eugene Daniels, “POLITICO Playbook: How much will John Fetterman’s rocky night matter?” Politico, 10/26/22)
- Newsweek: “’Brutal.’ ‘Cruel’: How the Internet Reacted to Fetterman Debate Horror Show” (Gerrard Kaonga, “’Brutal.’ ‘Cruel’: How the Internet Reacted to Fetterman Debate Horror Show,” Newsweek, 10/26/22)
- Fox News: “Oz-Fetterman debate: Liberal media admits Democrat candidate was ‘painful to watch’” (Joseph A. Wulfsohn, “Oz-Fetterman debate: Liberal media admits Democrat candidate was ‘painful to watch’,” Fox News, 10/26/22)
- Independent: “Fetterman and Oz’s debate confirms what we already knew. The Democrats are in trouble” (Eric Garcia, “Fetterman and Oz’s debate confirms what we already knew. The Democrats are in trouble,’ Independent, 10/26/22)
- New York Post: “Pundits stunned by ‘painful’ Fetterman performance in Pa. Senate debate” (Patrick Reilly, “Pundits stunned by ‘painful’ Fetterman performance in Pa. Senate debate,” New York Post, 10/26/22)
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “The former Braddock mayor and current lieutenant governor spoke haltingly at times, had difficulty stringing words together and mispronounced words in some instances during the hour-long, rapid-fire debate.” (“Mehmet Oz, John Fetterman debate in confrontation heavier on attacks than substantive policy,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 10/25/22)
- The Patriot-News: “… Fetterman’s consistently stilted speech and jumbled sentences in the rapid-fire debate format are likely to fuel more questions about his health…” (J.D. Prose, “Fetterman struggles in rapid-fire debate format as he and Oz trade well-worn barbs,” The Patriot-News, 10/25/22)
- Erie Times-News: “In the ensuing hour, his verbal stumbles ranged from being noticeable in some answers to obscuring his meaning in others. For example, when he was asked about whether he supports expanding the U.S. Supreme Court, Fetterman said he did not but struggled as he tried to explain why.” (Bethany Rodgers, “5 takeaways from the one and only Oz-Fetterman debate,” Erie Times-News, 10/25/22)
- Tribune-Review: “Fetterman… stumbled over words regularly in his answers and dodged questions…” (Ryan Deto, “Fetterman, Oz face off in chaotic debate,” Tribune-Review, 10/25/22)
“John Fetterman turned in a disastrous debate performance that is only fueling more questions about his fitness for office. If Fetterman has hidden the truth from Pennsylvanians on something as important as this, how can they trust him to represent them in the Senate?” -SLF Communications Director Jack Pandol