‘I Had a Stroke – He’s Never Let Me Forget That’: Fetterman Hits Oz During Opening Debate Response

Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D) and Mehmet Oz (R) squared off in their only Senate debate on Tuesday night, where the former occasionally struggled with his responses after suffering a stroke in May. Fetterman did manage to get in at least one solid zinger where he took a shot at Oz over having lived in New Jersey.

Oz only registered to vote in Pennsylvania in 2020 – using his in-laws’ address.

Fetterman hit Oz on Tuesday for calling into question his physical fitness for office. Oz has called on the lieutenant governor to release his medical records in light of his stroke.

Fetterman requested a closed captioning monitor for the debate because he sometimes has difficulty processing spoken words. The Oz campaign agreed, so long as this fact was disclosed at the beginning of the debate, and it was.

Both candidates were asked the same question to begin the debate. Fetterman was up first.

“You’re running for a seat that could determine the balance of power in Washington,” the moderator said. “What qualifies you to be a U.S. Senator?”

Fetterman awkwardly greeted viewers by saying, “Hi, goodnight everybody,” before responding.

“I’m running to serve Pennsylvania,” Fetterman said. “He’s running to use Pennsylvania. Here’s a man that spent more than $20 million of his own money to try to buy that seat.”

He invoked what he called “the Oz rule,” whereby if Oz is on television, “he’s lying.”

Fetterman then addressed the fact he had a stroke:

And let’s also talk about the elephant in the room. I had a stroke. He’s never let me forget that. And I might miss some words during this debate, mush two words together. But it knocked me down, but I’m gonna keep coming back up. And this campaign is all about to me–is about fighting for about fighting for everyone in Pennsylvania that ever got knocked down, that needs to get back up, and fighting for all forgotten communities all across Pennsylvania that also got knocked down that needs to keep get back up.

Watch above via NewsNation.