Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel on Thursday made light of the speech issues of President Biden and Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman (D) in an interview.
“Well, maybe they can get a full sentence out,” McDaniel said on the “Hugh Hewitt Show,” in response to news that the two would campaign in Pennsylvania alongside Vice President Harris.
Biden, 79, has faced criticism due to his occasionally flustered speech, while Fetterman, 53, suffered a stroke in May and has dealt with speech and auditory issues throughout his recovery.
His speech patterns were scrutinized heavily during his debate with Republican candidate Mehmet Oz this week, and opponents of Fetterman have argued that the Pennsylvania lieutenant governor is unqualified for office due to his health issues.
Hewitt, the conservative talk show host, said of the campaign reports: “I hope there are cameras and microphones, because you put those three together and they can say anything, Ronna.”
McDaniel and Hewitt took Biden’s campaigning for Fetterman as a sign that the Democrat is set to lose to opponent Mehmet Oz (R) in one of the most watched races of the midterm elections.
McDaniel doubled down on her comments about speech issues when she theorized that Biden would campaign with Fetterman because “between the two of us, we may be able to finish a full sentence.”
“I think this is an effort to show that the president is on the campaign trail and the vice president is on it and they — no one wants them except a doomed campaign,” Hewitt said.
He added: “But I do not underestimate what triple toxicity politically those three can do.”
McDaniel claimed that Fetterman “drew the short straw” on having Biden and Harris campaign on his behalf.
“I think all the candidates got together and said, ‘Which one of us has to campaign with Biden?’ ” she said.
The president and vice president will join the Pennsylvania Democratic Party’s annual Independence Dinner on Friday evening, where they will deliver the keynote addresses.