A day after gaining the endorsement of celebrity talk show personality Oprah Winfrey, Pennsylvania Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman drew abundant praise from hosts of “The View” during his Nov. 4 appearance on the program.
Fetterman was “incredibly courageous and brave” for debating Republican nominee Dr. Mehmet Oz on Oct. 25, Sunny Hostin said.
During the only scheduled debate between the candidates vying to replace retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, Fetterman often struggled to speak in complete sentences, stumbled over his words, and delivered responses punctuated by prolonged pauses.
Before the candidates offered their opening statements, moderators explained that a closed captioning system would be used so that Fetterman could follow their questions and Oz’s answers. Fetterman’s campaign made the request, and Oz’s campaign agreed.
Fetterman suffered a stroke days before the May primary, cast his ballot from a hospital room, and is still recovering.
For several months, media outlets and officials from the Republican and Democratic parties have questioned Fetterman’s ability to effectively serve if he is elected. Those concerns were elevated after the debate.
“I think you look and sound great,” Hostin said.
“It’s clear your post-stroke troubles are not cognitive and would not hinder you as a senator,” co-host Sara Haines added.
Fetterman appeared on the show via video chat. The View said that closed captioning was being used to assist him with auditory and word-processing issues.
When asked about his health condition, Fetterman said that he is “getting better and better every day” and that “we’ve been able to maintain the kind of rigors of running a campaign.”
Earlier this week, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette endorsed Oz, calling him a “unifier” who will “work with Democrats to get things done for Pennsylvania,” and he shows the “potential to become an influential, thoughtful, and independent senator.”
Fetterman served as mayor of Braddock, a borough located about 10 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, and still lives in the community of 1,721 residents.
In September, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial board called on both candidates to release their medical records. Oz obliged, and the results indicated he is in good health. Fetterman repeatedly refused.
In October, a Post-Gazette editorial once again urged him to follow Oz’s lead. Fetterman eventually released a letter from his physician on Oct. 19 from a doctor who wrote that he “is recovering well from his stroke” and “has no work restrictions and can work full duty in public office.”
What the Oct. 15 letter didn’t disclose is that the author—Dr. Clifford Chen—has donated to Fetterman’s campaign at least four times, according to Federal Elections Commission records.
Fetterman has yet to release his medical records.
“The View” co-host Ana Navarro asked Fetterman if he believes he has been transparent about his health issues.
“Mr. Fetterman, several senators have faced serious health challenges in office. Just in the last year, Sen. [Ben Ray] Luján, Sen. [Chris] Van Hollen, Sen. Tim Johnson all had strokes. Sen. [Arlen] Specter from Pennsylvania suffered cancer while serving.”
Navarro added that “none have had these serious issues, health issues, before being elected.”
“Since your stroke, you’ve only released two letters from your doctor and said you will not release your full medical records. Do you feel you owe voters full transparency, or have you been transparent enough—in that you can get the job done?”
Fetterman responded by saying “we have been leaving the same medical equivalent kind of information that Dr. Oz did,” adding, “You know, we’ve been running a campaign, and I think we have been very transparent in all of our doctors’ beliefs, both from June and also in October. All agree I am fit to serve.”
Fetterman continued by saying that he wants to focus on the race and not his health.
“And, you know, to me the race really isn’t necessarily specifically about my health. I believe in the team of my doctors, and believe that we’re here today, right now on live TV, being able to have this conversation,” Fetterman said. ”I feel that we’re running a very transparent race about health issues.”
Winfrey announced her stamp of approval for Fetterman during her online event, “A Virtual Voting Conversation,” on Nov. 3.
“I said it was up to the citizens of Pennsylvania and of course, but I will tell you all this: If I lived in Pennsylvania, I would have already cast my vote for John Fetterman for many reasons,” Winfrey said.
Winfrey, who is a Democrat, also endorsed a pool of other Democratic candidates.
“[If] I was in North Carolina, sister (Cheri) Beasley there, and if I was in Florida, I’d be supporting Val Demings. If I was in Wisconsin, it would be Mandela Barnes, in Nevada it would be Catherine Cortez Masto,” Winfrey said. “And in Texas, Beto O’Rourke, and Raphael Warnock, and the incredible Stacey Abrams, of course, in Georgia.”
That Winfrey supports Fetterman is noteworthy because she was the person who elevated Oz to national prominence as a health expert by including him as a guest on her show over a decade ago. In 2009, Oz launched his own talk show, which was produced by Winfrey’s company, Harpo Productions.
“We all know that Oprah’s the creator of Dr. Oz’s TV career and she went for you instead,” The View co-host Joy Behar said to Fetterman.
“It’s unbelievable,” Fetterman said. “It’s an honor.”
Winfrey is an icon who “understands what’s at stake here in this race,” Fetterman added.
On Nov. 3, Oz spokeswoman Brittany Yanick told reporters, “Doctor Oz loves Oprah and respects the fact that they have different politics. He believes we need more balance and less extremism in Washington.”
During the GOP primary, the New York Post reported that Oz asked Winfrey to not get involved in the race.
“I asked her to stay out,” Oz said. “Don’t support me because if you get involved in any way, you’ll get hurt and I don’t want my friends hurt,” he said in December 2021.
Fetterman held a double-digit lead in multiple polls last summer, but the race has tightened in recent months.
After the debate, Oz led Fetterman, 48 percent to 46 percent, in a poll of likely voters conducted by The Hill and Emerson College Polling.
A New York Times/Sienna poll released on Nov. 1 showed Oz and Fetterman tied at 47 percent each.
“Of those who say they have heard, seen, or read a lot about the debate, Oz leads Fetterman 55 percent to 41 percent,” Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College polling, told The Hill.
Among likely voters who have heard, seen, or read only a little or know nothing of the debate, Fetterman held a 56 percent to 28 percent advantage over Oz, according to the survey.
The race is rated as a toss-up by the Cook Political Report.
In a last-second effort to help Fetterman defeat Oz and allow the Democrats to flip the seat currently held by retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, former president Barack Obama will join Fetterman at a rally in Pittsburgh on Nov. 5.
Following that stop, Obama will travel to Philadelphia, where he will appear with President Joe Biden at an event for Fetterman and Pennsylvania Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro.
“I’m proud to be on the stage of two presidents that both won Pennsylvania,” Fetterman told CBS News. “They are 100% sedition-free and they reject extremism.”
On the same day in Latrobe, former President Donald Trump will appear with Oz and Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano.
