The wife of Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman demanded “consequences” for the NBC News reporter who spoke about her husband’s health problems earlier this week.
Gisele Barreto Fetterman said there had been no consequences for reporter Dasha Burns’s comments, claiming the reporter was an “ableist” who discriminated against her husband after he suffered a stroke earlier this year.
“I don’t like saying rage because I think that’s a really unhealthy feeling, and when you feel those things, it only harms yourself,” Fetterman told Fast Politics host Molly Jong-Fast. “But I just, you know, what a disservice that she did to not only my husband, but to anyone facing a disability and working through it. I don’t know how there were not consequences. I mean, there are consequences for folks in these positions who are any of the -isms. I mean, she was ableist, and that’s what she was in her interview.”
ESTABLISHMENT MEDIA ATTACK AN NBC REPORTER FOR MAKING FETTERMAN LOOK BAD
Fetterman’s campaign asked for closed captioning in the interview, Burns said, because he had problems with audio processing from the stroke. Hearing a person talk normally can be challenging for those who have audio processing problems, but there are no troubles when it comes to reading questions.
“Fetterman’s campaign required closed captioning technology for this interview to essentially read our questions as we asked them,” Burns told Nightly News host Lester Holt on Tuesday. “And Lester, in small talk before the interview without captioning, it wasn’t clear he was understanding our conversation.”
Burns’s comments were quickly seized on by liberal media figures who rushed to defend Fetterman — who is locked in a tight battle with Dr. Mehmet Oz for the Senate seat. However, Burns defended her statement and interview, claiming that she did her job in being transparent, and Fetterman did his by answering her questions through closed captioning in the interview.
We were happy to accommodate closed captioning. Our reporting did not and should not comment on fitness for office. This is for voters to decide. What we do push for as reporters is transparency. It’s our job. Fetterman sat down and answered our questions. That’s his job. https://t.co/gFZ02hlUs5
— Dasha Burns (@DashaBurns) October 12, 2022
“It just shows there’s so much work to do. These networks have to take accountability. Like, where is your training?” Gisele Fetterman said. “It was appalling to see, and you see that in schools. You see that with young children. You don’t expect to see it at this level. You know, I haven’t heard an apology. It hasn’t come. I am hopeful that they will reflect and see that they did an incredible disservice to all Americans.”
The outlet stood by Burns’s reporting earlier this week.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“Dasha is a widely respected beat reporter on the Pennsylvania Senate race and has provided in-depth reporting from the state for the better part of the last year. We stand behind her extensive coverage of all the important dimensions of this year’s Senate campaigns,” NBC News said.
John Fetterman, who has served as Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor since 2019, is facing Oz in the state’s Senate race to replace Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA). The election will be held on Nov. 8.
