Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D-PA) will appear on The View on Friday, another live television appearance in the aftermath of his debate against Republican Mehmet Oz that opened him up to scrutiny over his health.
The guest appearance comes as the Democratic candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania recovers from a stroke in May. The debate last week raised concerns that he could struggle with senatorial duties, as he had difficulty with auditory processing and had many verbal slip-ups.
Fetterman will appear on the show’s “Political View” segment in which guests are typically live and in the studio. The View hosts took a sympathetic stance toward Fetterman’s performance following the debate, calling him “brave” for making the appearance and accusing Oz of bullying him.
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“It was really strange to me that he chose to bully a stroke victim,” co-host Sunny Hostin said Wednesday. “He obviously was bullying him, and, you know, I don’t think the people of Pennsylvania or the people in general like that because Fetterman raised $1 million after that debate, and I think it takes real courage to show that you have been knocked down. I think it takes real bravery to allow people to see your weakness, right?”
Fetterman relied on closed-captioning devices to understand the questions fully and sometimes struggled to articulate his answers coherently. He has been open about how the stroke continues to affect his ability to process sound but would not commit to releasing his medical records.
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The Friday appearance comes just days before a midterm election in which Fetterman is slightly favored to win the seat held by retiring Sen. Pat Toomey (R). Fetterman is leading Oz in the polls by less than 1.5 points, on average. A survey released Monday from the New York Times/Sienna put Fetterman five points ahead.
The race is crucial in deciding which party controls the Senate, which is currently split 50-50. Republicans need a net gain of just one seat in order to win a majority in the upper chamber.
