CNN's Don Lemon urges Fetterman to permit doctors to tell media about his medical issues

AP Photo/Ryan Collerd

CNN’s Don Lemon is pressing Democratic senatorial candidate John Fetterman to permit his doctors to take questions from the media and disclose his medical condition ahead of the November midterms. 

Lemon pressed the candidate, who suffered from a stroke earlier this year, ahead of announcing his run for one of Pennsylvania’s two Senate seats, asking him questions about his health. 

Fetterman and his campaign insist that he is fit enough to campaign for the position, despite suffering innumerable difficulties understanding questions posed to him by the press and answering them. His recent showing at a debate against his Republican rival Dr. Mehmet Oz left many of his supporters questioning his fitness for office. 

"Listen, we've heard a little from your doctor, but we haven't heard a lot. You're asking voters to trust you on your word that your health is good without the full story, so in the interest of full transparency for the voters, do you think it would help if you let your doctors brief the press before election night?" Lemon asked.

“I think we've been pretty transparent, you know, we've had our doctors just be very clear that they're here, that we're able to and fit to serve,” Fetterman replied. 

“And from my point, uh, you know, we've been also been very transparent in terms of showing up at a debate, and very transparent about, you know, having events in front of thousands and thousands of Pennsylvanians for months, and I was again, it was no secret that I was gonna miss some words, I was gonna mush some words together,” the candidate continued.

Fetterman refused to provide his medical records when asked to do so by debate moderators late last month.

“And as we've been very clear, in the debate and during this interview I've been using captioning, it's all true,” he added. “I believe we've been very transparent to give all the voters to make it their choice.”

Don Lemon: "In the interest of full transparency for the voters, do you think it would help if you let your doctors brief the press before election night?"@JohnFetterman: "I think we've been pretty transparent." https://t.co/ZjbajpBvfE pic.twitter.com/GyVQ8DEVzx

— The Hill (@thehill) November 2, 2022

Elsewhere in the interview, Fetterman struggled to answer a question about the causes of inflation, providing a mealy-mouthed response that had numerous commentators questioning his capacity to understand the issue.

Fetterman is incredibly articulate in his response to Don Lemon's question about the causes of inflation. You gotta hear it to believe it. Pennsylvania deserves a senator that understands the system. pic.twitter.com/UjKToqwdBo

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) November 1, 2022