How Shall I Troll Thee? Right Wing Media Piles on Fetterman
By Kevin Howley, November 4, 2022
Win or lose, the political strategists advising John Fetterman ought to have their heads examined. Last week’s first and only televised debate between Fetterman and his Republican rival for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, Trump acolyte and celebrity TV quack, Memhet Oz, was one for the ages: a case study of the perils of an otherwise qualified candidate unfit for the format participating in a media spectacle masquerading as deliberative democracy.
Reactions to Fetterman’s performance was swift and predictable. For their part, Democrats indulged their seemingly insatiable appetite for Monday morning quarterbacking. According to The Hill, state Democratic officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, second-guessed Team Fetterman’s decision to participate “after a stumbling performance that put the spotlight on his condition after a stroke while playing to Republican Memhet Oz’s strength.”
Meanwhile, Republican strategists and their surrogates in right wing media did what they do best; they trolled Fetterman, his wife, Gisele Barreto, President Joe Biden, and just about anyone else in the Democratic Party you care to mention.
Is There a Non-Doctor in the House?
A sample of the snark spewed by right wing pundits reveals how party affiliation provides cover for cynical, calculated and cold-hearted ableism.
Indeed, weeks ahead of the debate, Andrea Widburg’s column in American Thinker, headlined, “Something is Seriously Wrong with John Fetterman,” set the tone for right wing media’s framing of the Pennsylvania senate race. Acknowledging that she’s “not a doctor, nor do I play one on television,” Widburg nevertheless offered the following prognosis: “Due to his stroke, Fetterman is often semi-coherent. There’s no way to tell if his problems are limited to a struggle to get words out or if they signal a deeper cognitive problem. They’re bad though.”
Fetterman’s poor performance during the televised debate kicked the ableist discourse into high gear. Headlined, “Independent Voters Change from Fetterman to Dr. Oz After Watching Dumpster Fire Debate,” Gateway Pundit borrowed liberally from Fox News coverage of the debate. “It was very, very difficult to watch,” Marc Goldberg told reporters. “Fetterman is not physically capable of serving in the US Senate.” No word if Mr. Goldberg is willing to challenge Fetterman to a friendly arm wrestling competition.
Don’t Forget Joe
Days later, The Federalist ran a hit piece targeting both Fetterman and Biden. With apologies to his readers for invoking the gaslighting trope, columnist Eddie Scarry goes on to suggest that national media outlets are providing cover for two cognitively-impaired politicians.
“Have you heard that two very important figures heading into the midterms, President Biden and Democrat Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman are in the best shape of their lives?” Scarry asks. “They’re, like, iron man marathon ready. They are, like, 1600 SAT score sharp.” It’s punditry like this that, like, makes the MAGA faithful sound like card-carrying members of Mensa.
Insults R Us
Finally, and perhaps most egregiously – after all, there’s still plenty of time to get in some last minute smack talk before Election Day – Townhall reports the Oz campaign parked a mobile billboard featuring clips from last Tuesday’s debate outside a recent Democratic Party fundraising event.
Dr. Oz’s communication officer, Brittany Yanick, declared that voters “deserve to see this debate as much as possible since John Fetterman ducked six others.” Yanick added, Fetterman “won’t be able to escape it during his fundraiser with the inflator-in-chief.”
Republican operatives know a thing or two about kicking a man when he’s down. But, to his credit, Fetterman isn’t out. Not yet. It remains to be seen if the good people of Pennsylvania will support a Democratic candidate struggling to overcome health challenges – like thousands of our fellow Americans – or hand over the U.S. Senate to the party of Trump.
This much is certain: Fetterman is on the mend; The Republic is on life support.
Kevin Howley is a writer and educator whose work has appeared in Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism, Social Movement Studies, and Interactions: Studies in Communication and Culture. His most recent book is Drones: Media Discourse and the Public Imagination.
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It remains to be seen if the good people of Pennsylvania will support a Democratic candidate like John Fetterman (above) struggling to overcome health challenges or hand over the U.S. Senate to the party of Trump. (Photo: Flickr)
