Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York on Thursday downplayed concerns about Democratic Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman’s Tuesday debate performance.
“Looks like the debate didn’t hurt us too much in Pennsylvania, so that’s good,” Schumer told President Joe Biden as the two met on a tarmac in Syracuse, New York, according to audio captured by Fox News. Fetterman and Mehmet Oz are polling within the margin of error in Pennsylvania, after the Republican closed a double-digit gap in roughly two months. More than 640,000 Pennsylvanians have already cast their ballots.
Schumer caught on a hot-mic talking midterms with Biden:
“Looks like the debate didn’t hurt us too much in Pennsylvania.” pic.twitter.com/FTUoEcWYmK
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 27, 2022
Biden spoke at Onondaga Community College to tout a $100 billion chip fabrication plant Micron is expected to build just outside Syracuse. The plant is expected to create 9,000 new jobs.
Fetterman, who suffered a stroke in May, repeatedly struggled to speak clearly during the debate. His primary care physician wrote that Fetterman is recovering from an “auditory processing disorder which can come across as hearing difficulty. Occasional words he will ‘miss’ which seems like he doesn’t hear the word but it is actually not processed properly.”
Only 18% of viewers told WPXI Pittsburgh that Fetterman won the debate, compared with 82% who said that Oz won. The Democrat claimed that Oz “never met an … oil company that he doesn’t swipe right about” and failed to coherently answer a question about his previous opposition to fracking.
“Uh, I do support fracking, and I don’t, I don’t, I support fracking, and I stand, and I do support fracking,” he said. (RELATED: Democrats, Media Rush To Defend Fetterman After Debate With Oz)
Although some members of the press defended Fetterman’s performance, MSNBC host Joe Scarborough described the Democrat as “impaired.” Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a CNN contributor, added that Fetterman’s “residual neurological injury” is “much greater than his campaign has led the public to believe.”