Fetterman campaigns in Scranton

Sep. 17—SCRANTON — During a campaign rally Saturday in Scranton, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman pilloried his Republican opponent in the Nov. 8 general election, Mehmet Oz, as a "joke" and a "clown."

Efforts to immediately reach the Oz campaign after Fetterman's rally were unsuccessful.

Speaking in a clear, at-times-halting voice, Fetterman, who is Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor, described his ongoing recovery from a stroke he suffered in May.

"I'm sure all of you know this, that I had a stroke. Dr. Oz reminds everybody that every day," Fetterman said. "The only issue is a lingering issue of auditory processing. Sometimes I might miss a word, or sometimes I'll push two words together and create one that doesn't exist. Let me give you an example."

He then joked about Oz's campaign video at a supermarket to highlight high food prices, but where Oz mangled the store name and used the term crudité for a veggie tray.

A supporter of a woman's right to choose, Fetterman also said, "Dr. Oz is a joke, but that's not funny. But that's not funny, because you want to know why? Abortion rights are on the ballot."

"No one takes a clown serious, but give a clown a vote and then that's serious because, again, abortion is on the ballot," Fetterman said.

The hotly contested Fetterman-Oz race to succeed Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, who did not seek reelection, is a key battle nationally that could determine control of the U.S. Senate next year. Democrats view this race as their best opportunity to flip a Republican Senate seat.

Oz has tried to paint Fetterman as ducking several debates, being America's most far-left Senate candidate, and soft on crime and inflation.

On Wednesday, Fetterman agreed to attend one debate, an Oct. 25 televised debate against Oz in Harrisburg.

Fetterman has claimed Oz fears taking a stand on Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham's new proposal to ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Fetterman also has described Oz as a celebrity heart surgeon who has peddled quack cures and as a wealthy carpetbagger from New Jersey out of touch with Pennsylvania.

"Do you think he can relate to the life that you live here? Do you think he understands the struggles that you have? Of course not. This is somebody that doesn't know how to shop," Fetterman said.

The rally was held at the Riverfront Sports facility off West Olive Street and Providence Road. U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat of Scranton, U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-8, Moosic, state Rep. Bridget Malloy Kosierowski, D-114, Waverly Twp., and United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776 President Wendell Young each spoke before Fetterman took the stage. He was introduced by his wife, Gisele Barreto Fetterman, who also spoke.

Fetterman cited Casey as a model, saying, "That's the kind of Democrat that I'm going to be, like Sen. Casey."

"There's so much at stake in this race. I'm running to be your 51st vote in the Senate. I'm the guy that says the filibuster got to go," Fetterman added.

Rich Grossman of Kingston wore to the rally his "My dude in Forty Fort" T-shirt, a reference to Fetterman's vocal defense of the 2020 presidential election as legitimate that garnered Fetterman national media exposure and made Grossman a Fetterman fan.

Fetterman tweeted and popularized the phrase by highlighting the arrest of a Forty Fort man charged with voter fraud for applying for an absentee ballot using his deceased mother's name in an attempt to vote for President Donald Trump's reelection bid in 2020.

"That put him (Fetterman) on the map," Grossman said. "I thought, 'Good for him.' "

After his campaign speech, Fetterman mingled with supporters, shook hands and posed for photos and selfies. On his way out of the venue, he stopped to chat with Jack Conway of Dunmore, who is disabled and was seated in a wheelchair near a side exit.

Conway, who is a Democrat, said Fetterman told him he was very grateful for his support.

"I think he's doing a great job. He's recovering from a stroke, obviously. I'm a disabled person, too. There's not a thing that you can't do if you want to do it, if you put your mind to it," Conway said. "The intellect of what he wants to say is still there. Sometimes there might be a little hesitance. That's normal."

Contact the writer:

jlockwood@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5185;

@jlockwoodTT on Twitter.