Democrat John Fetterman is “recovering well” and “can work full duty in public office,” his primary care physician said amid renewed attention to the Pennsylvania Senate candidate’s post-stroke health.
Dr. Clifford Chen, who specializes in family medicine and practices at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, wrote a letter after meeting with Fetterman on Friday. It was described as a follow-up appointment after Fetterman originally met with Chen in May.
Last week, a close-captioned interview with Fetterman conducted by NBC News reporter Dasha Burns was met with backlash from the campaign and many Democrats. Burns said after her report that “it wasn’t clear [Fetterman] was understanding our conversation,” referring to small talk without captioning before the interview.
That interview was followed by a new Fetterman campaign ad in which the candidate says “doctors tell me I didn’t suffer any cognitive damage.”
On Tuesday, Republican Mehmet Oz tweeted that Fetterman still had not released his medical records, calling for “transparency” for Pennsylvania voters.
Fetterman’s health has continued to improve, Chen said, adding that all his tests came out satisfactory and that the lieutenant governor can walk four or five miles regularly without difficulty.
“He spoke intelligently without cognitive deficits,” Chen said. “His speech was normal, and he continues to exhibit symptoms of an auditory processing disorder which can come across as hearing difficulty.”
For words Fetterman may “miss,” Chen wrote that it is due to not being properly processed. Fetterman’s communication has “significantly” improved since the pair first met about five months ago, he added.
Mark Makela/Getty Images
In a statement provided to Newsweek, Fetterman said that since his stroke he has experienced an “unbelievable number of Pennsylvanians” sharing how they overcame personal health issues.
“It reminds me why I’m fighting to slash health care costs and make it so every Pennsylvanian can spend more time with the people they love,” Fetterman said. “Unfortunately for Dr. Oz, I’m ready to serve and continue to get better every single day.”
Rebecca Katz, senior adviser for the Fetterman campaign, said in her own statement that the news is great for everyone except Oz.
“John is already fully ready to serve, and he’s still getting better every single day,” she said. “This must be crushing news for Oz, who has been rooting against John’s recovery and staked his entire campaign on it.
“It’s not easy recovering from a stroke in public—let alone doing it while running in the top Senate race in the country—but John has worked hard to get here, and it shows,” Katz added.
Oz’s senior communications adviser Rachel Tripp said the letter was “good news,” according to NBC News reporter Sahil Kapur.
“Now that he apparently is healthy, he can debate for 90 minutes, start taking live questions from voters and reporters, and do a second debate now, too,” Tripp said.
Newsweek reached out to the Oz campaign after Chen’s letter was made public.
Following Fetterman’s interview with NBC, The Philadelphia Inquirer’s editorial board endorsed Fetterman over Oz. The publication previously endorsed Representative Conor Lamb in the Pennsylvania Democratic primary in May.
“An experienced public servant, Fetterman has an abundance of the kind of values and priorities that are needed to move the nation forward—and to earn this board’s support,” the paper wrote.
Regarding the stroke, the Inquirer said that “there is no reason Fetterman cannot serve effectively.”
Discussion about this post