Joy Behar and Sunny Hostin joined a number of liberal journalists who claimed that Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz (R) was “bullying” Democrat John Fetterman during their televised debate on Tuesday evening.
Behar and Hostin joined their co-hosts on ABC’s midday talk show “The View” to recap the Pennsylvania Senate debate, and they both argued that Oz had essentially taken the opportunity to beat up on the obviously struggling Fetterman — who has been suffering from some auditory processing issues since his stroke earlier this year.
WATCH:
Sunny Hostin claims Oz “chose to bully a stroke victim.”
“He obviously was bullying him,” she declared. “It takes real bravery to allow people to see your weakness.”
Without evidence, she claims “Fetterman’s cognitive abilities have not been compromised.”
She calls Oz a “quack” pic.twitter.com/9KqRF1C51n
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) October 26, 2022
Although Behar had previously mocked Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker (R), suggesting that he suffered from brain damage — and claimed just one day earlier that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) “looked like he was having a stroke” when he did not answer a question about his 2024 prospects — she quickly laid into anyone who criticized Fetterman’s debate performance.
Noting that Republicans were running ads showing clips of Fetterman from the debate, Behar slammed Oz for allowing that and claimed he was somehow violating his Hippocratic oath as a physician.
“What kind of a doctor is behind that? Aren’t you supposed to do no harm?” she asked. “It’s so un-empathetic to the guy, you know?”
Hostin agreed, claiming that Oz had seen an opportunity and taken it at the expense of Fetterman’s health.
“It was really strange to me that he chose to bully a stroke victim, you know, he obviously was bullying him,” she said, going on to praise Fetterman for being willing to stand up in public and show his weakness. “It takes real bravery to allow people to see your weakness.”
Hostin went on to claim that Fetterman did not have any cognitive issues.
Hostin and Behar were not the only ones attempting to spin Fetterman’s obvious difficulties into an attack on Oz — a number took to Twitter to accuse the Republican candidate of capitalizing on his opponent’s struggle for political gain.
Pat Cunnane, who previously worked for former President Barack Obama, said, “Put the analysis to the side for a second: What John Fetterman is doing right now in the midst of his recovery — so publicly, on the same stage as a smirking TV doctor — is remarkably brave. I’m thankful for him. #PASenateDebate.”
Put the analysis to the side for a second: What John Fetterman is doing right now in the midst of his recovery – so publicly, on the same stage as a smirking TV doctor – is remarkably brave. I’m thankful for him. #PASenateDebate
— Pat Cunnane (@PatCunnane) October 26, 2022
“Dr Oz just gave a masterclass on how to bully people with disabilities,” author Liz Plank added.
T. Becket Adams pushed back on claims that questioning Fetterman’s health — even after watching the debate — was somehow “ableist” or amounted to bullying, saying, “Good God. It’s not ‘ableism.’ It’s not ‘discomfort.’ People are horrified to see a stroke victim pushed well past his limits by his wife and campaign, and all in the name of political gain. They’re shocked to see his camp has chosen rigorous campaigning over rest & recuperation,” he said.
Good God. It’s not “ableism.” It’s not “discomfort.”
People are horrified to see a stoke victim pushed well past his limits by his wife and campaign, and all in the name of political gain. They’re shocked to see his camp has chosen rigorous campaigning over rest & recuperation. pic.twitter.com/ZxSBu0hiza
— T. Becket Adams (@BecketAdams) October 26, 2022
