Just imagine if a Republican had done this, and the meltdown that the media would have had over it. John Fetterman, under pressure to release any updates to his stroke recovery, produced a doctor’s note yesterday – written by a campaign donor.

How is this remotely ethical?

In a letter released by Fetterman’s team, Dr. Clifford Chen said Fetterman has “significantly improved” following his stroke and “can work full duty in public office.” The campaign released the letter—which it called a “medical report”—following calls from media outlets for the Pennsylvania Democrat’s health records.”

Chen’s political leanings could raise questions about his medical assessment of Fetterman, whose race against Republican Mehmet Oz could determine which party controls the Senate. According to campaign finance records, Chen has given tens of thousands of dollars over the years to Democratic candidates and party committees. He contributed $1,330 to Fetterman’s campaign, including a $500 donation in June 2021, before he became Fetterman’s doctor. Chen donated to other Senate candidates running in close races this cycle, including Rep. Val Demings (D., Fla.) and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D., Ga.).”

“This isn’t about politics,” Fetterman campaign spokesman Joe Calvello told the Washington Free Beacon. “It’s an independent, detailed medical report written by John’s primary care doctor based on his latest office visit from last week.”

So, let’s have a look at this letter that Dr. Chen wrote. And let us also be fair – this is NOT a medical report. This is a letter, from a doctor, that provides a few medical details.
https://twitter.com/sahilkapur/status/1582750833271136256
This is what we learn from the letter:
1) Fetterman has normal blood pressure, can breathe normally, and has full control and strength in his limbs.
2) His labs all came back within normal range.
3) Fetterman’s auditory processing is an issue.
4) He is still receiving speech therapy.
5) Fetterman has a heart condition which requires monitoring by a cardiologist and daily medication. We know from previous reports that there are actually TWO heart conditions at play, atrial fibrillation and cardiomyopathy. Again, Dr. Chen is not his cardiologist, so while he can write a letter describing Fetterman’s overall health, we get zero specifics about the heart issues that, by everyone’s admission, Fetterman ignored, and then nearly died from.

Here’s the problem. Was Dr. Chen chosen because he was a donor to the campaign? As reported by the Washington Free Beacon above, and confirmed by the letter, Dr. Chen donated to Fetterman’s campaign nearly a year before becoming his primary care physician. And how are we supposed to take a letter from someone with a vested interest, expressed by his campaign donation, in seeing John Fetterman elected? Especially when that letter comes with no other independent evidence or verification of lab results? Dr. Clifford Chen is a loyal Democrat donor, as proved by his donation track record. What evidence do we have to take his word when it comes to the health of John Fetterman? As I said, ethical questions abound. Imagine that any Republican who had had a significant medical event occur then present a note like this as proof that recovery was great. The media would be howling.

Instead, they asked the Oz campaign for their reaction, which was pretty spot on.

That’s good news that John Fetterman’s doctor gave him a clean bill of health. The bad news is that John Fetterman still supports releasing convicted murderers out on the streets and has zero explanation for why he didn’t pay his taxes 67 times. And now that he apparently is healthy, he can debate for 90 minutes, start taking live questions from voters and reporters, and do a second debate now too.”

Mic drop. Of course Fetterman is not able to speak clearly during live events. We all know this, even as his doctor’s letter says that he’s “improved” and this is just an “auditory processing disorder.” Well, Fetterman did not have auditory processing disorder before his stroke. It is fair to say that his brain and cognitive functioning was dramatically altered by the stroke, if this is the end result. Will it improve? WE DON’T KNOW, AND NEITHER DO THE DOCTORS. It is insane for the campaign, buttressed by this campaign donor doctor, to claim that all will be just fine in January.

Fetterman can sound completely fine when he is reading a script for a campaign ad that can have multiple takes and multiple edits.

It’s the live, extemporaneous speaking that is the problem.

FETTERMAN: “Send me to Washington, D.C. to take on—to make sure I push back against work to work.”

*literally one person cheers* pic.twitter.com/PX6AKh7cnE

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 15, 2022

The polls are tightening, and the debate is in five days. Time for the Fetterman campaign to bring in The Big Guy! I’m sure this is going to go well, after all, Biden is in such a good mood about it.

"John Fetterman's gonna appear with you today in Pennsylvania, but there haven't been that many candidates campaigning with you —"

Biden, grabbing the reporter: "That's not true! There've been 15. COUNT KID, COUNT!" pic.twitter.com/Weg5WPHrSU

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 20, 2022

Oh, I’m sure this is going to go splendidly. Mmmm hmmm. Perhaps this is an elaborate plan by the Fetterman camp to make their candidate look cognitively capable next to President Dementia? It’s probably not the worst idea a campaign’s ever had.

UPDATE 11:55 AM PT
Yeah, that went well.

Biden to John Fetterman's wife:

"You're gonna be a great lady in the Senate." pic.twitter.com/xDqiY35ucc

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 20, 2022

Listen to the clip, because the full quote was a bit longer.

The full quote of Biden to the Fettermans: "John, thank you very much for running, I really do appreciate it. And Gisele, you’re going to be a great, great lady in the Senate."

— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) October 20, 2022

Uh, exactly WHO is going to be a Senator, here? And apparently, Fetterman, dressed in a suit, sat in the audience and did not speak at all. I guess that’s one way to campaign.

Welcome Instapundit Readers!

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