NBC's Jonathan Allen: Oz is forcing the media to cover Fetterman's health
NBC News reporter Jonathan Allen acknowledged that Dr. Mehmet Oz is forcing the media to cover the health of his opponent John Fetterman in the Pennsylvania Senate race.
NBC News senior politics reporter Jonathan Allen acknowledged Tuesday that GOP Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz has forced the media's hand in covering the looming health concerns of his Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman.
Oz has been railing against Fetterman over his refusal to commit to debating him ahead of the midterm elections.
"Today, we've got a clear decision. John Fetterman is either healthy and he's dodging the debate because he does not want to answer for his radical left positions," Oz said during a press conference on Tuesday, "Or he's too sick to participate in the debate."
PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE: FETTERMAN'S ABILITY TO SERVE AS SENATOR IN QUESTION AMID HEALTH CONCERNS
Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz speaks during a Republican leadership forum at Newtown Athletic Club on May 11, 2022 in Newtown, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
On MSNBC, Allen was asked whether Oz's rhetoric putting the focus on Fetterman's health is helping or hurting him with Pennsylvania voters.
"I'm not sure whether it's helping or hurting him with the voters at the moment. What it is doing, though, is it's making the media report on Fetterman's health. And that's something that there had not been a lot of during the summer," Allen said.
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Allen continued, "So, Oz is talking about this. Republicans have been talking about this, and hope that it will get a little bit more coverage. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, newspaper in the western part of the state, obviously, editorialized today that if Fetterman wasn't capable of debating, then that would be a problem for him in terms of being a senator."
NBC News reporter Jonathan Allen admits that Dr. Mehmet Oz forced the media to report on John Fetterman's health. (MSNBC)
Last week, Fetterman rejected Oz's offer of accommodations to partake in their first debate in early September, accusing his opponent of making light of the stroke he suffered earlier this year.
"My recovery may be a joke to Dr. Oz and his team, but it's real for me," the lieutenant governor said in a statement. "I will not be participating in a debate the first week of September, but look forward to having a productive discussion about how we can move forward and have a real conversation on this once Dr. Oz and his team are ready to take this seriously."
Appearing on "America's Newsroom," Dr. Oz denied claims that his campaign was "making fun" of Fetterman's stroke and went on to knock the Democrat for ducking from the debate.
"I offered John Fetterman numerous opportunities to explain to me how I can make it easier for him to debate, but at this point, since he's given numerous reasons for not showing up, including the fact he didn't have time in his schedule, I'm of the opinion that he's hiding his radical views because he is the furthest far-left radical candidate at any competitive Senate race this cycle, and he doesn't want those views to be exposed," Oz told co-host Dana Perino.
Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania and Democratic US Senate candidate John Fetterman addresses supporters during a rally on August 12, 2022 in Erie, Pennsylvania. - The event marked Fettermans first campaign rally since suffering a stroke caused by a blood clot on May 15, 2022. (DUSTIN FRANZ/AFP via Getty Images)
In recent weeks, Fetterman has reemerged on the campaign trail after taking much of the summer off due to his recovery from the stroke.
During his first televised interview since his stroke, Fetterman was asked if he will debate Oz at all before the election.
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Fetterman responded with a non-answer.
"Again, as I just said, this is just a sad approach at this point because they're trying to not focus on the condition of their campaign right now," Fetterman told MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle last week. "And when they want to get into a serious conversation and really talk about having a debate, I'd be happy to engage in that. But right now, the fact that they have chosen to have a deeply unserious campaign to just ridicule somebody that is just recovering from a stroke."