‘Fairly Fluent’: CNN Doctor Tries To Defend Fetterman Stumbling Over His Words

CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta claimed Wednesday that Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was “fairly fluent” while speaking.

“When we talk about speech, we typically talk about your ability to express yourself through spoken and written word, but also to receive speech, reception of speech, through spoken and written word,” Gupta told “CNN Newsroom” guest host Bianna Golodryga. “Listening to him, he sounded like he was fairly fluent in his speech, able to speak pretty clearly. Every now and then he would have a little word sort of mash up, as he calls it.” (RELATED: CNN Host Admits The Media Is Giving Fetterman ‘A Pass’ In Heated Senate Battle)

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Fetterman, who is running for the seat being vacated by retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, suffered a stroke May 13 and claimed he had “no limits” in July despite apparent speech issues. Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Republican nominee, questioned whether Fetterman was able to serve as a senator in August as Fetterman declined multiple debate invitations.

“But what’s interesting — let me show you something. The stroke, which was on May 13th, so about five months ago, seemed to affect his ability to sort of comprehend or understand spoken speech,” Gupta said. “So what he seems to be doing then, is then sort of relying more on his visual part of his brain, which is back here, to read the words, and then he’s responding pretty quickly.”

“So, you know, we don’t — as you heard that — we don’t know what his medical records show, we don’t know how much this affected him immediately after his stroke. So what his recovery has looked like so far. But that — that is sort of what — what we’re seeing there,” Gupta continued. “And that’s not that unusual, that someone who’s had a stroke that affects that part of the brain, as he sort of indicated — intimated as well. You can — can — you can have recovery, recovery can — can go for some time, certainly, but six months, 18 months, you know, whatever the time period may be, people may continue to have improvements.”

Fetterman did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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