Senator John Fetterman, D-Pa. ran into further health complications this week after his health issues were a central theme of the 2022 Senate election, as he struggled throughout the campaign due to recovering from a stroke.
Less than a month after taking office, Fetterman was again hospitalized this Wednesday after feeling lightheaded, though his spokesperson said it was not a stroke.
Fetterman’s new health issues have reignited a debate about if he will be capable of serving in the Senate and if a long and taxing campaign worsened his condition.
Hidden within an article penned by the New York Times on Friday includes multiple shocking admissions from Fetterman’s staffers that validate concerns about his health.
Some have said that his recent lapse indicates that the media intentionally ran cover for him during the 2022 campaign cycle.
Today's NYT article on Fetterman makes clear his incapacities and health challenges are far graver than were known.
Nothing but the best of wishes to Fetterman and his recovery, but it's urgent to recall how aggressively and deliberately the media lied about this to elect him: https://t.co/cJ31xX06SY
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) February 10, 2023
During the campaign, people who voiced concerns about Fetterman’s health were often derided as discriminatory against people with disabilities.
The New York Times and Fetterman’s aides have “Had to come to terms with the fact that he may have set himself back permanently by not taking the recommended amount of rest during the campaign.” The Times article stated.
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Fetterman "has had to come to terms with the fact that he may have set himself back permanently by not taking the recommended amount of rest during the campaign."https://t.co/cOOwMxTTFt
— Andrew Egger (@EggerDC) February 10, 2023
The Pennsylvania Senator’s own Chief of Staff admitted to the Times that Fetterman needed to do “as little as possible” for a proper recovery but instead was forced to do “as much as possible” on the campaign trail.
“What you’re supposed to do to recover from this is do as little as possible,” said Adam Jentleson, his chief of staff. Instead, Mr. Fetterman “was forced to do as much as possible — he had to get back to the campaign trail. It’s hard to claw that back.”
Later in the article, the New York Times admits that Fetterman has not taken sufficient time to rest after the campaign, which may have contributed to his hospital trip this week.
“It is stressful, having to go through that experience in the context of the most high-profile Senate race in the country,” said Jentleson.
In an even more bizarre admission in the article, one person close to Fetterman claims that he has heard voices similar to the teachers in ‘Peanuts’ after his stroke.
Fetterman hears voices like the teachers in 'Peanuts' after stroke, struggles to adjust to Senate life: report https://t.co/hRV0ozrkFu
— Fox News Politics (@foxnewspolitics) February 10, 2023
Senate Democrats have reportedly attempted to accommodate Fetterman in the month since he took office. “We’re going to have to learn our own styles with it,” said Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota, who said she experimented with the tablet at a recent Democratic caucus lunch. “What I was saying was accurate even when I talked fast. I wanted to make sure it was accurate. It was kind of hard to imagine what it would be like to be him.”
“He answers like you would answer anyone,” Ms. Klobuchar added. “It’s us that have to get used to it; he’s used to it.”
Still, staff reports that he has faced limitations on important matters, including speaking to reporters and the public.
“Before the stroke, he was the kind of person who loved the give-and-take with reporters,” Mr. Jentleson said. “The challenge is to be able to get back to that place, given the current limitations.”
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