Fetterman Fields Softballs in The View Interview

The View‘s cohosts lobbed softball after softball at John Fetterman, the Pennsylvania Democrat competing with Dr. Mehmet Oz for a U.S. Senate seat, during an interview with the candidate on Friday.

Joy Behar introduced Fetterman by declaring that his performance in a debate against Oz last week had drawn “criticism, as well as praise and admiration.” Fetterman suffered a stroke in May and often appeared confused by the questions he was asked during the debate.

A Suffolk University poll found that 62 percent of Pennsylvania voters who watched the debate believed that Oz had won, while only 17 percent thought Fetterman had the upper hand on-stage.

Behar began the interview by congratulating Fetterman for having secured the endorsement of Oprah Winfrey, who helped launch Oz’s career as a television personality. “What does this mean to you and your campaign?” she asked Fetterman, who replied that it was “incredible” and he was “honored” to have been endorsed by “an icon.”

“Particularly because of Oz’s relationship with her,” added Behar before asking whether his doctors expect him to make a full or substantial recovery.

“Yeah, that’s the case, and I continue to get better and better every day” said Fetterman.

The early questions from Behar set the tone for the rest of the interview, as most inquiries came with a built-in answer for Fetterman to work off of.

Ana Navarro observed that “several senators have faced serious health challenges in office,” but did note that his own case was different because his stroke had occurred before he was elected. “Do you feel you owe voters full transparency or have you been transparent enough in that you can get the job done?” she asked.

“I really feel that have been using the same, equivalent kind of information that Dr. Oz did, and you know we’ve been running a campaign and I think we have been very transparent and all of our doctors believes both from June and also in October all agreed that I’m fit to serve,” argued Fetterman.

Dr. Oz has released his full medical history while Fetterman continues to withhold relevant test results while trotting out letters from friendly doctors which paint a rosy picture of his recovery.

“Well I think you look and sound great,” Sunny Hostin assured him before telling Fetterman she thought it was “incredibly courageous and brave thing” for him to participate in a debate with Oz. She went on to accuse Oz of being “a bully” and asked Fetterman “does any of this surprise you, a man with a Harvard master’s degree?”

Other questioners took a similarly friendly tact.  Sara Haines was sure to first assert that “It’s clear your post-stroke troubles are not cognitive and would not hinder you as a senator,” before asking Fetterman why his wealth — which comes from his family’s fortune — is less worthy of criticism than Oz’s (self-made) fortune.

Alyssa Farah, who previously worked in in the Trump White House, asked Fetterman why voters should trust Democrats to address inflation and economic insecurity since they hold unified control of the federal government already.

Fetterman replied that inflation “is a tax on working people” and that he “fundamentally” believes Oz “doesn’t really understand that.” He went on to attribute inflation to “corporate greed” and “price gouging.”

Farah did not interrogate him further on the issue, asking Fetterman about his flip-flop on fracking. In 2016, Fetterman called the industry a “stain” on Pennsylvania, and in 2018 he reaffirmed that “I don’t support fracking, at all, and I never have.” During his debate with Oz, he purported to have “always” supported fracking.

After Fetterman insinuated that he had only opposed fracking without any environmental regulations being enforced around it, the panel moved on.

The race between Oz and Fetterman — the latter has led in the polls for months — has grown increasingly tight in recent days. According to the FiveThirtyEight polling average, Fetterman boasts just a .4 point lead over Oz right now. A month ago, he led by almost six points.