News & Politics

Debate ‘concession list’ sparks war of words between Oz, Fetterman

Fetterman says he won’t debate Oz on Sept. 6, citing his recovery from a stroke.

Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and Dr. Mehmet Oz

Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and Dr. Mehmet Oz Commonwealth Media Services and Doctor Oz for Senate

John Fetterman and Dr. Mehmet Oz have been trading barbs and attacks for months, but as it stands now, Pennsylvanians may have to wait a little longer to see the two Senate candidates on a debate stage. 

Fetterman, who is recovering from a stroke he suffered just before the May 17 primary, officially declined an invitation to debate Oz in Pittsburgh next week, chastising the celebrity physician and his campaign, accusing them of mocking his recovery. 

“I’m proud of my record as mayor and as Lieutenant Governor and I’m eager to put my record and my values up against Dr. Oz’s any day of the week,” Fetterman said in a statement released Tuesday night. “As I recover from this stroke and improve my auditory processing and speech, I look forward to continuing to meet with the people of Pennsylvania. They’ll always know where I stand.”

The news came after Fetterman notified KDKA-TV that he would not be attending a debate that Oz had already agreed to. It also followed a statement from Oz campaign that offered a list of concessions in order to goad Fetterman into participating – one of which stated that Oz’s Senate campaign would “pay for any additional medical personnel he might need to have on standby.”

In the list of concessions, Oz’s campaign also said the celebrity doctor “promises not to intentionally hurt John’s feelings at any point” and that the campaign “will allow John to have all of his notes in front of him along with an earpiece so he can have the answers given to him by his staff, in real time.”

In a statement accompanying the concessions, Oz spokesperson Brittany Yanick suggested that Fetterman didn’t want to debate his record against Oz, the Republican Party’s nominee. “I guess John Fetterman is afraid of debating Doctor Oz,” Yanick said in a statement.Last week, Oz’s campaign aggressively went after Fetterman, suggesting that Fetterman may not have had a stroke if he had “ever eaten a vegetable in his life.

Today’s statement from Dr. Oz’s team made it abundantly clear that they think it is funny to mock a stroke survivor.
- John Fetterman

Fetterman, the state’s lieutenant governor, was hospitalized after suffering a stroke in May, and later underwent a procedure to have a pacemaker with a defibrillator implanted, causing him to temporarily give up his lieutenant governor duties. Following the stroke, Fetterman said in a statement that he should have taken his health “more seriously,” adding that he “almost died” as a result of avoiding routine medical visits. Fetterman’s campaign later revealed that the Senate hopeful was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation in 2017, and that he also has a condition called cardiomyopathy – a broad term for a heart muscle disorder. 

Citing his recent health challenges, Fetterman didn’t take kindly to the list of concessions released by Oz’s campaign. “Today’s statement from Dr. Oz’s team made it abundantly clear that they think it is funny to mock a stroke survivor,” Fetterman said. “I chose not to participate in this farce. Any sense that these ‘challenges’ were done in good faith is damaged.”

“My recovery may be a joke to Dr. Oz and his team, but it’s real for me,” he added. 

Fetterman officially returned to the campaign trail with a rally in Erie on Aug. 13, where he said he was “grateful to be here.” According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Fetterman “delivered his speech off the cuff and spoke deliberately and slowly” and, at times, “had to carefully enunciate a word or two.”

Fetterman told the Post-Gazette in a July interview that he is working with a therapist to improve his speech. And while he took offense to comments made by Oz’s campaign, he didn’t completely close the door on the possibility of meeting the former talk show host on a debate stage. Fetterman said he looks forward to a “productive discussion about how we can move forward,” adding that he will “have a real conversation on this once Dr. Oz and his team are ready to take this seriously.”

Upon learning of Fetterman’s decision not to participate in next week’s debate, Oz’s campaign had a pointed response: “John Fetterman is a liar, a liberal, and a coward,” Yanick said.

Oz, who has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, has publicly agreed to at least four other U.S. Senate debates, including events hosted by WFMZ-TV, the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce and Nexstar. If his campaign’s public comments are any indication, he’s already itching for the next opportunity to go toe-to-toe with the Democratic nominee.

"We heard John Fetterman won't debate Oz in the 'first week of September'. Ok, so when will he debate? He won't ever say – not even in his latest whiny statement,” Yanick said in a statement. “John Fetterman's campaign is insulting the intelligence of Pennsylvania voters."

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.