Debate Host Fires Back After John Fetterman Team Claims Closed Captioning ‘Full of Errors’

This combination photo shows Democratic Senate candidate Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (L) and Republican Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz in 2022 photos. AP Photo

U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman’s campaign alleged that the closed captioning system used to assist the Pennsylvania Democrat candidate against the first—and only—debate against Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz was full of errors and delayed.

Earlier this year, Fetterman, the Pennsylvania lieutenant governor, suffered a stroke and has struggled with his speech and communication, triggering concerns that he is unfit to serve in the Senate. The campaigns of both Oz, a longtime TV doctor, and Fetterman agreed to allow him to use closed captioning for the debate.

Following the debate, Fetterman spokesman Joe Calvello told reporters that the campaign believed Fetterman performed well despite what he said were errors in the closed captioning.

“We are thrilled with John’s performance,” Calvello stated. “He did remarkably well tonight ... especially when you consider that he’s still recovering from a stroke and was working off of delayed captions filled with errors. John won countless exchanges, counter-punched aggressively, and pushed back on Oz’s cruelty and attacks.”

But Nexstar refuted Calvello’s claims about alleged errors in the closed captioning.

‘Unfortunate’

“It is unfortunate that Mr. Fetterman is now criticizing the closed captioning process employed by Nexstar during tonight’s debate,” Nexstar communications chief Gary Weitman told news outlets. Weitman said that Fetterman did not use all his opportunities to prepare for the debate.

“Both candidates agreed to the technical set-up for the closed captioning process weeks ago, which was implemented at the request of the Fetterman campaign,” he said. “Both candidates were offered the opportunity for two full rehearsals with the same equipment used in tonight’s debate; Mr. Fetterman chose to do only one.”

Weitman went a step further and said the firm’s “production team went to extraordinary lengths to ensure the effectiveness of the closed captioning process, and to accommodate several last-minute requests of the Fetterman campaign.”

“The closed captioning process functioned as expected during rehearsal and again during tonight’s debate,” he added. “We regret that Mr. Fetterman and his campaign feel otherwise.”

‘Painful’

Despite Calvello’s assertions that Fetterman performed well, his debate responses were riddled with errors and were, at times, difficult to watch. Fetterman often paused awkwardly for long stretches of time, missed words, and spoke in a halted manner.

Fetterman has not released his full medical records, although he told the debate moderator that “my doctor believes I’m fit to serve.” His campaign has not allowed journalists to interview his doctors.

However, even legacy media outlets made note of his speech difficulties and obvious health problems, with an Axios headline saying, “Fetterman’s painful debate,” while the New York Times wrote that he is “showing stroke effects.” The Washington Post conceded that he displayed “verbal struggles” against Oz.

And the post-debate commentary on NewsNation, hosted by Nexstar, focused primarily on Fetterman’s health and whether he can serve or not.

NewsNation host Leland Vittert stated that the “biggest issue” during the debate was “John Fetterman’s health and his ability to comprehend speech, and to then speak coherently on the issues of the day.”

During the start of the debate, Fetterman noted that the “elephant” in the room is his health, claiming: “I might miss some words during this debate, mush two words together, but it knocked me down and I’m going to keep coming back up.”

Both Oz and Fetterman are vying for the Senate seat that’s currently held by Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), who weighed in on the debate on Tuesday night.

“It’s sad to see John Fetterman struggling so much,” Toomey told CNN. “He should take more time to allow himself to fully recover. ”