dr Mehmet Oz claimed he was not concerned about John Fetterman’s ability to serve as a senator due to his stroke, but focused on the Democrat’s lack of transparency in refusing to release his medical records.
“I think people with disabilities can and should serve. I wouldn’t blame anyone for that,” Oz said in an interview with NBC News. “The problem for me is that Pennsylvania voters deserve transparency.”
But on Thursday night, Maria Bartiromo Oz was hit head-on by Fetterman’s auditory processing issues during an interview with Fox Business. “I don’t think they have closed captions in the Senate,” he said, slamming his opponent for having to use closed captions during an NBC interview this week.
During the NBC interview, he also gave a clearer picture of his stance on abortion, having successfully avoided being forced to respond on the matter for much of his campaign.
He reiterated that he was against abortion except in the case of rape, incest, or danger to the mother’s life. However, Oz indicated that he would not support Sen. Lindsey Graham’s abortion bill, which bans the procedure after 15 weeks without exception for rape or incest.
“I don’t want federal laws restricting what states do with abortion,” he said, adding that he was speaking broadly. “It should be up to the States.”
dr Mehmet Oz gave a clearer picture of his stance on abortion after successfully avoiding being forced to respond on the matter for much of his campaign
The famous heart surgeon also said he supports President Biden’s move to pardon state marijuana possession offenses
The famous heart surgeon also said he supports President Biden’s move to pardon state marijuana possession offenses.
“Going to jail for marijuana is not a smart move for the country. I think people who have used marijuana, and that’s the only reason they’re in prison, shouldn’t be using those criminals – those convictions – against them,” Oz said, calling Biden’s decision a “rational move.”
And to get to the heart of the matter in the final days of the campaign, Oz said he opposes the federal mandatory minimum sentence.
“I really think judges should have the authority to make the tough decisions, and they’re generally good at that,” Oz said. “If we tie their hands by legislating at the federal level, it hinders their ability to do that to do what must be done.”
Fetterman supported federal mandatory minimums for cases involving fentanyl dealers in an interview with NBC days ago.
Fetterman suffered a stroke in May and still has problems with auditory processing. He sometimes gets his words mixed up or says the wrong thing and has to read from a subtitled screen to answer questions from the press.
Last week, Fetterman gave the same NBC News reporters his first sit-down interview since his stroke, where he sat behind a desk and stared at a computer screen with closed captions to reporters’ questions.
Oz said he watched the interview and thought, “He probably wants to release his records, but he doesn’t. So why not?’
“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 explained.
“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’s being asked,” he said.
Fetterman “occasionally stuttered and had trouble finding words,” according to the reporters who interviewed him, who sat down with the lieutenant governor during an important part of his run, with Oz moving closer to Fetterman in pre-election polls.
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.
Dacha Burns, one of the interviewers, said that in her casual conversations with Fetterman before the formal interview, “it wasn’t clear that he understood our conversation.”
“I’ll go until January [to] be, you know, much better,” Pennsylvania Lt. gov. John Fetterman, recovering from the effects of a stroke
Fetterman occasionally glanced at a screen showing closed captions during the NBC interview
Republicans used her description of the interaction as evidence that Fetterman was incapable of performing Senate duties, while others accused Burns of being “offended” in describing her conversation with Fetterman.
Pressed by NBC News as to why he refused to release his medical records, Fetterman said he wasn’t aware of any undisclosed symptoms and stressed that his memory and cognition were unimpaired.
“I feel like we’ve been very transparent in a lot of ways,” Fetterman said. “If our doctor has already given a letter saying I can serve and walk. And then I think there’s – you can’t be more transparent than being on a stage with 3,000 people and giving a speech without a teleprompter and just being – and putting everything and yourself out there like that. I think that’s as transparent as anyone in Pennsylvania can see.