Senator John Fetterman Hospitalized

Newly-elected Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman – whose campaign repeatedly affirmed over the past year that he was in good health – has been hospitalized after feeling “lightheaded” on Wednesday of this week. 

His communications director, Joe Calvello, told Bloomberg this week that there was no evidence that Fetterman, who had a stroke while running for election last year, had another stroke. Calvello said: “Initial tests did not show evidence of a new stroke, but doctors are running more tests and John is remaining overnight for observation.”

Fetterman was last seen at the President’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night. He had then gone to a Democratic retreat on Wednesday, but was forced to leave. 

He “left and called his staff, who picked him up and drove him to the George Washington University Hospital,” Calvello told Bloomberg. He added that Fetterman was in: “good spirits and talking with his staff and family.”

Prior to his election, Fetterman’s televised debate performance against Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz, had become a talking point due to his inability to articulate himself. Those who questioned Fetterman’s ability or health were labeled as “ableist”. 

During the debate, Fetterman’s health became one of the first issues discussed. Fetterman supposedly, at the time, got a letter from a doctor giving him the “all clear for full duty” to work in office, but avoided the request of releasing his full medical records surrounding his stroke.

Additionally, as was noted last October, Fetterman had numerous members of the media running interference for him for the better part of the five months leading up to the debate. Several mainstream media reporters, like Kara Swisher, chimed in, claiming that Fetterman was recovering well from his stroke and hadn’t had any issues communicating.

People like Swisher stepped in to do damage control when other members of the media, like Dasha Burns, had the true courage to point out what were likely very inconvenient facts for her employer, MSNBC, and their political affiliation: that it “wasn’t clear” Fetterman was understanding their conversation at the time.