John Fetterman Gives an Interview, and Well...

John Fetterman, who was released from Walter Reed hospital this week, gave an interview to CBS’s Sunday Morning anchor Jane Pauley two days before his discharge. The interview is a classic example of how the liberal media is attempting to portray Fetterman as a hero, despite his misleading voters about his fitness to serve in the U.S. Senate, because he sought treatment for depression.

I first learned of the interview by seeing a clip that CBS News shared on Twitter. In the clip, you can clearly see he is still relying on a closed captioning system to help him understand what people are saying. In the full interview, it is suggested that it is also partially due to diminished hearing and not solely because of his auditory processing issues.

Pennsylvania Senator @JohnFetterman talks about his "downward spiral" that led to a diagnosis of major depression, how his health scare affected his family, and his reasons for feeling hopeful for the future.https://t.co/LOQNIoxrVa pic.twitter.com/YJarDmFbuL

— CBS Sunday Morning 🌞 (@CBSSunday) April 2, 2023

However, what stood out to me the most were the moments in the interview where it appeared that Fetterman’s responses had been edited together in an apparent effort to mask the speech difficulties he was experiencing. If you aren’t heavily focused on it, you may not even notice, and it would easy to conclude, “Wow, he’s come a long way since his disastrous debate performance with Dr. Oz last year.

Initially, I was open to giving John Fetterman the benefit of the doubt and considered the possibility that the clip shared on Twitter had been edited for brevity’s sake. However, my curiosity led me to watch the full interview, and to my surprise, I noticed similar quick cuts scattered throughout the conversation.

While it’s understandable that Fetterman may want to present himself as capable and articulate, it is also important to acknowledge and address the challenges that he is still facing, and it is disingenuous of the media to try to conceal that. Fetterman’s poll numbers took a hit after his debate with Oz because the debate was broadcast live without the benefit of being repackaged for the audience.

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For sure, there were portions where Fetterman was coherent for a sentence or two, but has he really improved since October? How can we know for sure when CBS clearly removed portions where Fetterman likely struggled to communicate and perhaps gave him multiple opportunities to say what he meant to say until it sounded good? We don’t know, but after watching the interview, I am suspicious of what CBS didn’t want us to see.

It is essential for politicians to be transparent about their abilities and limitations, particularly when they are running for office. Failing to do so is what led to Pennsylvania being without full representation in the Senate for roughly two months. Sadly, it looks like we’re still not getting the transparency we deserve regarding Fetterman and his health.