Oct 13, 2022 3 min read

John Fetterman granted his first interview since suffering a stroke six months ago.

Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor and Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate used closed captioning to help him communicate with NBC News correspondent Dasha Burns.

Fetterman is in a tightly contested race with Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz, and the Nov. 8 outcome could help determine which party controls the Senate.

In the interview conducted at his home, Fetterman said he still struggles to understand what he hears, and has occasional trouble enunciating certain words.

“I sometimes will hear things in a way that’s not perfectly clear,” he said. “It (stroke) changes everything, from having a conversation with your wife or your children. Especially right after the stroke. But it gets much better. To be precise, I use captioning so I’m able to see what you’re saying on the captioning.”

After the interview, Burns tweeted that Fetterman seemed to have problems with comprehension.

“In small talk before my interview, it wasn’t clear he understood what I was saying,” she tweeted.

Part of the interview aired on NBC News on Tuesday night, and more was carried on NBC’s Today show Wednesday. The full 32-minute interview is available on the NBC News YouTube channel.

Fetterman, 53, acknowledged Wednesday morning on Twitter that the transition from his May stroke has been taxing, but he remains encouraged.

He told Burns his condition will not affect his ability to serve. He said he’s able to read and hasn’t suffered memory loss.

“Recovering from a stroke in public isn’t easy. But in January, I’m going to be much better – and Dr. Oz will still be a fraud,” he tweeted.

Lizzie Litzow, National Republican Senatorial Committee spokeswoman, fired back, saying Fetterman’s condition cannot be minimized, adding the use of closed captioning compromises his candidacy.

“As a U.S. senator, daily conversations with a variety of people are a standard and closed captioning won’t always be involved,” she said. “How can Pennsylvanians expect Fetterman to represent them to the fullest if he can’t even get through a short amount of ‘small talk?”‘

Burns questioned Fetterman for not releasing his medical records.

“I feel like we have been very transparent in a lot of different ways,” he said. “When our doctor has already given a letter saying that I’m able to serve and to be running. And then I think there’s – you can’t be any more transparent than standing up on a stage with 3,000 people and having a speech without a teleprompter and just being – and putting everything and yourself out there like that. I think that’s as transparent as everyone in Pennsylvania can see.”

Burns and Fetterman also talked about political topics such as abortion rights, crime and inflation and how to deal with the opioid epidemic.

Oz has pushed to schedule several debates with Fetterman, who has agreed to one. It’s scheduled for 60 minutes on Oct. 25 in Harrisburg.

“I feel like I’m (getting) better and better – every day,” Fetterman said. “I believe I’ll be able to serve effectively.”