Fetterman Claims It Is ‘Bizarre’ People Are Focusing on His Use of Closed Captioning

Democratic Pennsylvania Senate hopeful John Fetterman is struggling to understand why people are focusing on his use of closed captioning.

During an interview with Rolling Stone, Fetterman said, “I mean — if you’re offended, or you would not want to consider voting me, because I’m having our interview” using closed captioning “that’s kind of surreal to me, why anybody would want to make that an issue.”

He called the focus on it “just bizarre,” “kind of strange,” and added that he does not understand it.

His comments come after an interview with NBC News’ Dasha Burns — the first in-person conversation with a reporter since his stroke in May.

Burns has received criticism for sharing Fetterman has “a hard time understanding what he’s hearing.”

She also stated it seemed the Senate hopeful “had a hard time understanding” some small talk that occurred without the use of closed captioning.

Several journalists have criticized Burns for her comment about the small talk as they pointed out they did not have the same experience.

Whoopi Goldberg, a co-host of ABC’s “The View,” suggested the issue might have been with Burns, and perhaps she is “bad at small talk.”

In a tweet, Burns defended her decision as she wrote, “It’s possible for two different reporters to have two different experiences a candidate. Our team was in the room him reported what happened in it, as journalists do. Before after closed captioning was on.”