After Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman's campaign complained about alleged errors in the closed captioning system during this week's Senate debate, Republican candidate Mehmet Oz extended an open invitation for a rematch.
"We're sorry to hear that the Fetterman campaign was unhappy with how the closed captioning system that they requested was working on Tuesday," Oz's campaign said Thursday. "We're happy to do a second debate any time."
The invitation comes after Fetterman's campaign alleged that the closed captioning screen he used during the debate, which the campaign requested because of the candidate's auditory-processing difficulties since suffering a stroke in May, was plagued by "delayed captions filled with errors." The debate was characterized by numerous verbal miscues by Fetterman, who often struggled to string sentences together.
Nexstar, which hosted the debate, pushed back on the Fetterman camp's allegations, saying the "closed captioning process functioned as expected." The media company also said it offered Fetterman two rehearsals to practice using the technology, but the Democrat only used one.
Democrats and media pundits struggled to put a positive light on Fetterman's performance during the debate. When asked to explain his changing position on fracking, Fetterman responded, "I do support fracking. And I don't, I don't. I support fracking, and I stand, and I do support fracking."