Democrat John Fetterman said he’ll debate Republican Mehmet Oz on television before the competitive Pennsylvania senatorial election in November, the candidate told Politico.
“We’re absolutely going to debate Dr. Oz, and that was really always our intent to do that,” the lieutenant governor told Politico in an interview on Wednesday.
He said that due to the hearing damage from his stroke, they’re figuring out methods such as closed captioning to assist in his debate performance.
“It was just simply only ever been about addressing some of the lingering issues of the stroke, the auditory processing, and we’re going to be able to work that out,” he said.
Fetterman insists that he has “every ability to talk about all of these issues,” despite concerns being raised about his fitness to serve.
While he does say that he’ll have minimal problems taking on the celebrity doctor turned politician, Fetterman offered almost no details about debate logistics.
Politico reported that he only said it will air on a “major television network” in October.
Oz has called on his opponent to make his health situation clear, and he has called on him to debate if he is well enough.
What happens if a U.S. senator in an important state like Pennsylvania is elected, never having answered a legitimate question from a voter, from a newscaster … in a debate stage?” Oz said at a press conference on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. “What would that mean for future campaigns around the country?”
Fetterman suffered a stroke in May, and he got a pacemaker a week later, RedState reported at the time.