Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman’s (D) wife faced backlash Tuesday night following her husband’s widely criticized debate performance.
Fetterman has faced scrutiny over his fitness for office after he suffered a stroke earlier this year. He has demonstrated that he sometimes struggles to understand words and has difficulty speaking, often needing conversations transcribed to understand what is being said.
Fetterman participated in an interview earlier this month with NBC News reporter Dasha Burns where he used a computer that transcribed the questions being asked by Burns so he could understand what she was saying.
After she interviewed Fetterman, Burns wrote, in part: “Just in some of the small talk prior to the interview, before the closed captioning was up and running, it did seem that he had a hard time understanding our conversation.”
Fetterman’s wife, Gisele Fetterman, responded to Burns’ remarks by wondering how there weren’t “consequences” against her.
Following Fetterman’s disastrous debate performance, numerous journalists called for there to be apologies made to Burns over the attacks that she faced over her reporting.
“Anyone who watched any part of the debate between Fetterman and Oz knows exactly what happened – whether they’re willing to admit or not – and people should read this thread, and remember what was done to @DashaBurns, to immediately see why people hate and distrust the media,” left-wing journalist Glenn Greenwald tweeted.
Free Beacon reporter Alana Goodman tweeted, “Shame on every reporter who attacked @DashaBurns over her Fetterman reporting, and tried to cover up what we are all witnessing now with our own eyes.”
Gisele Fetterman faced backlash for allowing her husband to debate, given the current state of his condition.
“It’s Fetterman’s wife I don’t get. Her first job, only priority is the well being of her husband,” Breitbart columnist John Nolte tweeted. “He should be in a rehab facility. Why would she allow this? What kind of spouse would risk his health and betray his dignity in this way?”
Daily Wire host Matt Walsh tweeted: “Among other things, both Fetterman and Biden have awful women for wives. They could have steered their husbands away from humiliation on the world stage but they wanted prominence and power more than they wanted to protect their spouses.”
“Pennsylvanians will not have a problem with John Fetterman because he had a stroke,” National Review writer Jim Geraghty tweeted. “They will have a problem with Fetterman because he, his wife, his campaign, and his party weren’t honest about his condition & recovery until it could no longer be hidden.”
Other notable responses included:
One of the most important things to remember is Fetterman had his stroke before THE PRIMARY.
He and his wife covered it up and have continued to cover up the extent of it.
Pennsylvania voters — including Democrat voters — should be furious about this.
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) October 26, 2022
The villain tonight is not Fetterman. It’s his wife.
— toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) October 26, 2022
This Fetterman-Oz debate is absolutely shocking. @DashaBurns was the only reporter who told the truth about Fetterman’s state. But it is so much worse than inability to track smalltalk. It is painful to watch this.
— Bari Weiss (@bariweiss) October 26, 2022
Where does Dasha Burns go to get her apology?
— Rich Lowry (@RichLowry) October 26, 2022
If Dasha Burns was guilty of anything it was downplaying the extent of Fetterman’s problems. And recall all the feigned outrage. Gisele Fetterman demanding “consequences.” Etc
— David Harsanyi (@davidharsanyi) October 26, 2022