Republican Party chairwoman Ronna McDaniel mocked the speaking abilities of President Joe Biden and Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman of Pennsylvania during an appearance on a radio show on Thursday.
Ms McDaniel’s disparaging comments came after host Hugh Hewitt brought up that Mr Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are scheduled to appear with Mr Fetterman in Philadelphia on Friday.
“I hope there are cameras and microphones, because you put those three together, and they could say anything, Ronna,” Mr Hewitt said.
“Maybe they can get a full sentence out,” Ms McDaniel replied.
Mr Fetterman’s speaking ability was in the spotlight earlier this week, when he met his Republican opponent Mehmet Oz for the first and only debate of their closely watched Senate contest in Pennsylvania. Mr Fetterman suffered a stroke in May, and the debate was the first time that many people were watching him speak in its aftermath.
The stroke impacted Mr Fetterman’s auditory processing ability, though it did not impact him cognitive function. As an accomodation, the debate employed closed captioning so Mr Fetterman could read questions from the moderators and responses from Dr Oz on a screen to be sure that he was not missing anything they were saying.
Much of the media focus in the aftermath debate was on Mr Fetterman’s speaking ability rather than the substance of the debate with Dr Oz — coverage that many learning difference advocates and supporters of the Democrat called ableist.
Several other senators have suffered strokes in recent years and recovered while in office. Sen Mark Kirk of Illinois suffered a stroke in office and served out the remainder of his term before losing re-election to Sen Tammy Duckworth in 2016, while Sen Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico suffered a stroke earlier this year and has continued to serve.
But the media spotlight on Mr Fetterman, running in a race that could determine control of the Senate, has been more intense than the focus on those other senators. Mr Fetterman largely stayed off the campaign trail while recovering over the summer, but has returned to events in recent weeks to varied reviews.
Dr Oz’s debate performance also got mixed reviews. His comment that “local political leaders” should be involved in making decisions about abortion care along with women and their doctors was immediately turned into an advertisement for Mr Fetterman’s campaign.
Mr Biden, meanwhile, had a speech impediment as a child that he has spoken openly about and worked throughout his life to manage.
Mr Hewitt and Ms McDaniel joked that, because of Mr Biden and Ms Harris’ unpopularity, Mr Fetterman would not be well served by their presence in the state.
“Biden said, ‘Between the two of us, we may be able to finish a full sentence,’” Ms McDaniel said.
Mr Hewitt suggested that Mr Fetterman’s campaign is “toast,” even though he continues to lead Mr Oz in a majority of public polls and is considered a slight favourite to win the race by the elections forecaster FiveThirtyEight.
