NBC reporter Dasha Burns apparently did the unthinkable when covering a Democrat – she told the truth about her interactions with John Fetterman, and now all the usual liberal suspects are howling at her honesty.

When Fetterman suffered a stroke right before the Pennsylvania Senate primary this summer, it was clear that his campaign was covering up just how serious the situation really was. While some people are able to rehabilitate quickly from a stroke, it all depends on the severity of the damage done. Team Fetterman, led by his wife Gisele, went to great lengths to talk around the situation and gloss over just how severe the stroke (and the heart condition) had been. And ever since then, the campaign has been either curating clips or using surrogates to run campaign ads, or tweeting out under Fetterman’s name. But Fetterman can’t finish this campaign from behind a screen. So, NBC conceded to multiple accommdations for John Fetterman in order to do an in-person interview with reporter Dasha Burns.

Now, Burns’s reporting is very sympathetic to Fetterman and his health issues. But she didn’t ignore his medical condition in her reporting.

During the interview, Fetterman occasionally stuttered and had trouble finding words. He responded to oral questions after reading captions on a computer screen. “I sometimes will hear things in a way that’s not perfectly clear. So I use captioning so I’m able to see what you’re saying on the captioning,” Fetterman said.”

He said the stroke, after which doctors implanted a pacemaking device with a defibrillator to monitor and regulate his heartbeat, has altered the way he communicates, including with his family.”

“It changes everything,” Fetterman said, responding to a question about how his recovery has changed his day-to-day. “Everything about it is changed.”

Fetterman, acknowledging the challenges he still faces, added: “But it gets much, much better where I take in a lot. But to be precise, I use captioning, so that’s really the maijing — that’s the major challenge. And every now and then I’ll miss a word. Every now and then. Or sometimes I’ll maybe mush two words together. But as long as I have captioning, I’m able to understand exactly what’s being asked.”

At one point, he struggled to articulate the word “empathetic” — toggling between the correct pronunciation and “emphetic” — and then pointed to that as an example of the effect of the stroke. Asked about those moments, Fetterman said searching for language is not a difficult experience.”

“No, I don’t think it was hard. It was just about having to be thinking more, uh, sl, uh — slower — to just understand and that sometimes that’s kind of the processing that happens,” Fetterman said.”

Pressed by NBC News why he declined requests to share his medical records and make his doctors available for interviews, Fetterman said he’s not aware of any undisclosed symptoms and argued that he has been open with the public about his health and recovery, including the auditory processing challenges. He has said that his cognitive function and memory are unaffected.”

“I feel like we have been very transparent in a lot of different ways,” Fetterman said. “When our doctor has already given a letter saying that I’m able to serve and to be running. And then I think there’s — you can’t be any more transparent than standing up on a stage with 3,000 people and having a speech without a teleprompter and just being — and putting everything and yourself out there like that. I think that’s as transparent as everyone in Pennsylvania can see.”

These are legitimate questions for an honest reporter to ask, and then cover. But apparently, Dasha Burns is VERY VERY VERY BAD for DARING to question Fetterman’s health and recovery. And to her credit, Burns pushed back against the hysterical liberal critics who expected her to give Fetterman more of a fig leaf.

NBC's Dasha Burns hits back at liberal reporters attacking her for pointing out Fetterman can't engage in "small talk."

"Our team was the first to be in the room with Fetterman for an interview rather than via remote video conference."pic.twitter.com/x3nWEujqLF

— Kyle Martinsen (@KyleMartinsen_) October 12, 2022

Now, who was complaining about Burns’s reporting? The narrative went out on the left: if you dare critique John Fetterman, then you are attacking a disabled person and are an ableist bigot who would deny people wheelchairs.

How is this any different from Tammy Duckworth or Madison Cawthorn needing a wheelchair? How is it different from many elderly Senators who need hearing aids? CORRECTED https://t.co/bCRl0IvCs3

— Eric Michael Garcia (@EricMGarcia) October 12, 2022

As some on Twitter pointed out, the reason Tammy Duckworth IS a senator is because her opponent HAD A STROKE. The desperate attempt to link a physical impairment to a cognitive impairment is beyond nuts. And very telling about how the left sees anyone with a disability.

But the prize goes to Kara Swisher, leftist whose resume includes Vox and the New York Times. Swisher had a hot take so great, she deleted it. But the internet is forever.

When you decide to just keep going. pic.twitter.com/a5Bzicj5aJ

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) October 12, 2022

Yeah, that comparison of a stroke to autism got deleted, but HOLY F**KING CRAP. There are just so many things wrong with that analogy, including that many people on the autism spectrum do not see themselves as something to be “solved” – and that because autism is a spectrum, not everyone on that spectrum is “Rain Man.” I hope Swisher got enough blowback to think long and hard about how offensive this was. Regardless of her crap take, Fetterman is running for the United States Senate. Communication, both spoken and written, is pretty much 95 percent of the job. If he is unable to do that, how does he expect to fulfill his duties as a senator?

Never fear, Edith Wilson Jill Biden Gisele Fetterman is all in on “how dare you question my husband and his newly acquired disabilities that will in no way affect his performance and if you notice them then YOU would stop people from using a wheelchair or glasses!”

Truly appalling. Have these “journalists” never heard of the ADA? Close to 15% of the US population identify as hard of hearing and may need accommodations. Really curious to learn how they feel about wheelchairs and glasses …

— Gisele Barreto Fetterman (@giselefetterman) October 12, 2022

With this kind of outsized reaction to honest reporting, all eyes now turn to the planned October 25th debate between Fetterman and Mehmet Oz. Again, we here at Victory Girls are not fans of Dr. Oz, but Fetterman, aside from his extreme leftist positions, is clearly not currently capable of being lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, much less a senator. (Not that he has apparently done much but draw a paycheck as lieutenant governor, anyway.) That debate is going to tell us an awful lot about John Fetterman, and will be covered nationally as well as locally. Fetterman gets one chance to show that his stroke has not left him with cognitive impairments, and he won’t be able to have his wife next to him. Will the campaign let him show up, even with all the accommodations that have been agreed to? We shall see in less than two weeks.

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Featured image: Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania John Fetterman, official portrait, cropped, Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)