Sen. Pat Toomey says if John Fetterman is too sick to debate, he's too sick to be in U.S. Senate
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, a Republican, blasted the Democrat who wants to succeed him for failing to debate his Republican opponent.
As KDKA-TV political editor Jon Delano reports, it's part of Mehmet Oz's ongoing attack on John Fetterman's health.
Oz insists Fetterman's stroke in May is a campaign issue, this time with Toomey — who endorsed Oz right after the primary — saying if you're too sick to debate, you're too sick to be in the U.S. Senate.
"That level of intense engagement and debate and discussion is absolutely fundamental to this job. If he's not able to do that, then frankly, he's not going to be able to be an effective senator, and Pennsylvania voters ought to know that," Toomey told KDKA's Jon Delano on Tuesday.
Toomey, like Oz, insists that he's not picking on someone because of his health. After all, a number of senators have physical issues like hearing, vision and mobility challenges, and U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter served with an advanced form of Hodgkin's lymphoma cancer.
Delano: "Are you saying that John Fetterman's health is a reason not to vote for him for United States senator?"
Toomey: "I'm saying John Fetterman is not being honest with the voters of Pennsylvania. We don't know the answer to that question, Jon. He says he's perfectly fine but then he refuses to engage in a debate."
In an interview with KDKA-TV last month, Fetterman acknowledged that he still had some health issues, particularly with hearing and articulating words.
"The only issues lingering from the stroke is just having some auditory processing every now and then. I'll miss a word or i might push two words together sometime in a conversation, but that's really the only issue and it's getting better and better," Fetterman said on Aug. 11.
Fetterman has limited his campaign appearances, sometimes stumbles in his remarks, and has not yet accepted any debate offers, although he's told KDKA-TV he has not ruled out a future debate at this station.
"It's not that I'm unsympathetic to someone recovering from a stroke. That's a very tough thing to go through. But you know, if he's not able to engage in a debate, then he's not able to do this job and that's something he ought to be candid about," says Toomey.
Fetterman says he's been upfront about his health and has criticized Oz for ridiculing someone recovering from a medical condition. He marched in Pittsburgh's Labor Day parade for two hours and then spoke briefly at two events, including the United Steelworkers picnic with President Joe Biden.
"While John's still recovering, he's more capable of fighting for Pennsylvania than Dr. Oz will ever be. And anyone who's seen Dr. Oz speak knows he's a complete fraud," the Fetterman campaign said in a statement to KDKA-TV.
Toomey insists debating is an essential part of being a good senator.
"If he's not able to engage in a debate, then he's not able to do this job and that's something he ought to be candid about," he said.
"We are open to debating Oz," the Fetterman campaign said, "and we're talking with networks, but let's be clear: this isn't about debates. This is about mocking John for having a stroke because they've got nothing else, and because they don't want to talk about the fact that Oz wants to ban abortions."
When Fetterman's campaign turned down the KDKA-TV debate that Oz had accepted for Sept. 6, Fetterman's campaign did say a future debate at this station was possible, but nothing is scheduled yet.
While most senate candidates have debated at KDKA-TV, it's usually not until October. As for voters, lots of issues separate Oz and Fetterman to choose from, including women's rights, abortion, crime, inflation and the environment.
Election day is nine weeks away.