FILE—Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, meets with supporters as he leaves his event in Philadelphia, in this file photo from Sept. 24, 2022. Black voters are at the center of an increasingly competitive battle in a race that could tilt control of the Senate between Fetterman and Republican Mehmet Oz, as Democrats try to harness outrage over the Supreme Court’s abortion decision and Republicans tap the national playbook to focus on rising crime in cities. (AP Photo/Ryan Collerd, File)
By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — An NBC News correspondent who interviewed Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman says her reporting should not be seen as a commentary on his fitness for office after a stroke. Reporter Dasha Burns reported on-air that the Democrat appeared to have trouble understanding a conversation without a closed-captioning device. The comment has been retweeted by Republicans, who are seeking an advantage in the closely followed Senate race between Fetterman and Republican Mehmet Oz. The interview with Burns was Fetterman’s first on-air interview since his May 13 stroke. It was conducted with a device that prints a transcript of questions in real time on a computer screen, to help Fetterman deal with auditory processing issues.