Moderator DENIES Fetterman’s claim that closed-captioning ‘errors’ were responsible for his garbled language – as snap poll shows 82% of viewers thought the Pennsylania Democrat lost
- John Fetterman and Mehmet Oz on Tuesday night held their one and only debate in their race for Pennsylvania Senate, which will be decided on November 8
- Fetterman struggled in matchup, pausing awkwardly and searching for words
- His campaign blamed closed-captioning ‘errors’
- System was in place to aid Fetterman as he is recovering from stroke
- Nexstar, the news outlet that hosted the debate, pushed back, saying the closed captioning process was working
- ‘The closed captioning process functioned as expected during rehearsal and again during tonight’s debate,’ company said
- A snap poll from WPXI Online showed Oz was the clear winner of the night with 82%. Fetterman garnered a mere 18%
The sponsor of the Pennsylvania Senate debate denied allegations from John Fetterman’s campaign that closed-captioning ‘errors’ led to the Democratic candidate’s disastrous performance.
During the Tuesday night debacle, Fetterman struggled to respond to the moderator’s questions during his debate with Dr. Mehmet Oz. He missed words and paused awkwardly as he answered questions.
His campaign blamed the closed-captioning system, which Fetterman was allowed to use as he is still recovering from a stroke he had in May. Above the moderators were two 70-inch monitors to show the text of what was being said during the question and answer session.
‘He 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. John won countless exchanges, counter-punched aggressively, and pushed back on Oz’s cruelty and attacks,’ Fetterman communications director Joe Calvello said after the debate.
But Nexstar, the news outlet that hosted the debate, pushed back, saying the closed captioning process was working. The company used professional typists to transcribe what was happening in near real-time.
‘Nexstar’s production team went to extraordinary lengths to ensure the effectiveness of the closed captioning process, and to accommodate several last-minute requests of the Fetterman campaign,’ Nexstar communications chief Gary Weitman said in a statement said.
‘The closed captioning process functioned as expected during rehearsal and again during tonight’s debate. We regret that Mr. Fetterman and his campaign feel otherwise.’
He also said Fetterman didn’t take his practice opportunities in order to be better prepared for the evening.
‘It is unfortunate that Mr. Fetterman is now criticizing the closed captioning process employed by Nexstar during tonight’s debate,’ Weitman said.
‘Both candidates agreed to the technical set-up for the closed captioning process weeks ago, which was implemented at the request of the Fetterman campaign. Both candidates were offered the opportunity for two full rehearsals with the same equipment used in tonight’s debate; Mr. Fetterman chose to do only one,’ he noted.
Oz, the Republican nominee and a former television personality, was comfortable on camera as he reeled off zingers against Fetterman.
A snap poll from WPXI Online showed Oz was the clear winner of the night with 82%. Fetterman garnered a mere 18%.
