John Fetterman's Debate With Dr Oz Last Night Went As Disasterously As You Imagined

PHILADELPHIA — John Fetterman and Mehmet Oz sparred over abortion, fracking and other hot-button issues during their Senate debate Tuesday night, with the Democrat who suffered a stroke more than five months ago struggling at times to effectively communicate — missing words, pausing awkwardly and speaking haltingly.

Those difficulties were on display during the debate, with Fetterman sometimes struggling to complete sentences, stumbling over words and pausing altogether. Fetterman’s allies said ahead of the debate that he might pause occasionally due to the closed-captioning process, which has a delay.

Fetterman and Oz went toe-to-toe over fracking, a method of extracting natural gas that employs tens of thousands of people in Pennsylvania.

Asked by moderators about his changing positions on the issue — Fetterman now supports fracking, after previously backing a moratorium on new fracking in his unsuccessful 2016 Senate bid — Fetterman misleadingly said “I’ve always supported fracking.”

He later said, “I do support fracking and I don’t, I don’t — I support fracking, and I stand, and I do support fracking.”

Oz cast Fetterman’s position as extreme: “The energy industry is living in fear of John Fetterman.”