Fetterman Dodges Question on Releasing Full Medical Records

Democratic Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman did not directly answer a question on whether he would release detailed medical records during his debate against Dr. Mehmet Oz on Tuesday.

Fetterman, running for a U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania, this month released a letter written by his primary care physician, who said he was recovering well after suffering a stroke in May and could "work full duty in public office."

Fetterman was asked during the debate if he would commit to releasing his medical records. The Democrat responded that his doctors believe that he is ready to serve.

When a moderator again asked him if he would release his health report, he reiterated that "my doctor believes that I'm fit to be serving" and that's "where I'm standing."

Fetterman's health in the wake of the stroke has become a key issue in the contentious race. But the Democrat's campaign has been working to dispel concerns about his ability to serve in the Senate.

In the letter from his primary care physician, Dr. Clifford Chen wrote that Fetterman "spoke intelligently without cognitive deficits" and "continues to exhibit symptoms of an auditory processing disorder which can come across as hearing difficulty." In instances where Fetterman may "miss" words, this is due to them not being adeptly processed. Chen added that Fetterman's communication had "significantly" improved since he first met with him in May.

But the letter has also spurred backlash from those who pointed out that Chen has been a donor for Fetterman's campaign or expressed concern that he still displays auditory processing issues.

An email sent by Fetterman's campaign amid the debate said that he has "gone above & beyond on health transparency since his stroke." It highlighted key takeaways from Chen's letter, as well as a letter in June from cardiologist Dr. Ramesh Chandra, who wrote that Fetterman "should be able to campaign and serve in the U.S. Senate without a problem" if he continues to follow doctors' orders.

Joe Calvello, communications director for Fetterman's campaign, said in a statement after the debate that the Democrat, "did remarkably well tonight— especially when you consider that he's still recovering from a stroke and was working off of delayed captions filled with errors."

Fetterman used closed captioning during the debate to follow the conversation.

"Debating has never been John's strength—it wasn't even before the stroke—yet he still managed to go toe to toe with a professional talk show host on live TV ... John may not have pronounced every word correctly, but it was Oz who had the biggest gaffes of the night," Calvello wrote.

Newsweek has reached out to Fetterman's campaign for further comment.

Updated 10/25/22, 10:35 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information and background.