Oz Agrees to Oct. 25 Debate With Fetterman—Under 3 Conditions

Mehmet Oz will take the stage against his Pennsylvania Democratic U.S. Senate opponent in an Oct. 25 debate if three conditions are met, his campaign said on Sept. 14.

After weeks of listening to Oz questioning Fetterman’s refusal to participate in a debate, Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor agreed to a forum hosted by Nexstar Television in Harrisburg on Oct. 25, exactly two weeks before the Nov. 8 general election day.

Oz has repeatedly said that the first debate should be held before the first mail-in ballots are sent out on Sept. 19. Fetterman, who had a stroke just before the Democratic primary in May, has made few public appearances since winning his party’s nomination. He continues to experience auditory processing issues that prevent him from promptly responding to what he hears.

Fetterman asked for the use of closed captioning during the debate and for two practice sessions in the studio, according to the Oz campaign.

State Lt. Gov. and U.S. senatorial candidate John Fetterman delivers remarks during a “Women for Fetterman” rally at Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, Pa., on Sept. 11, 2022. (Kriston Jae Bethel/AFP via Getty Images)

In a statement, Oz’s campaign released a statement outlining the three conditions it requested for the event:

At the opening of the debate, a moderator tells viewers that Fetterman is using a closed captioning system and there could be a delay in what he is asked and when he responds.

Questions provided to Fetterman in the practice sessions have no resemblance to questions asked in the debate.

The debate should be extended from 60 minutes to 90 minutes to cover the delay related to the closed captioning system.

It would be “unfair to viewers to waste airtime while close captioners type questions and answers,” the Oz campaign wrote.

Oz wanted

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