Polling data released by the Trafalgar Group last week showed a narrowing gap in Pennsylvania’s Senate race, with the state’s Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman leading Republican candidate Mehmet Oz by 2.4%.
That tightening in the race has Fetterman turning to Washington for help: in a move some see as a sign of desperation, President Joe Biden announced will be traveling to Pennsylvania.
Biden has low approval rating in Pennsylvania
The president has long been dogged by dismal poll numbers, with a recent survey from YouGov putting his approval rating at just 43%.
The situation among Pennsylvanians is even worse, as a Civiqs poll found that Biden’s approval rating stands at only 37% in the Keystone State.
Those figures have led some candidates to put distance between themselves and the president, with Ohio Democratic Senate nominee Tim Ryan publicly saying Biden should not seek re-election in 2024.
Yet as the website Twitchy pointed out in an article last Friday, “Fetterman losing his lead means his campaign is forced to take that risk.”
Some social media users agreed that Fetterman’s decision to enlist the president does not suggest confidence in his campaign.
Oh my God…. 😆… John Fetterman’s campaign has begun to throw Hail Mary’s…..with 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter…..with his QB Joe Biden having a sub-40 approval rating in Pennsylvania. 😆https://t.co/7xuSXPjU4h
— Jeff Adams (@JeffAdams82) October 14, 2022
Meanwhile, other Twitter users likened the damage that Fetterman suffered as a result of a stroke this year to President Joe Biden’s well documented cognitive struggles.
I would pay money just to watch these two try and have a conversation.
— Biggus Dickus (@B1ggus_D1ckus) October 14, 2022
Stock has forced Fetterman to rely on closed-caption technology
Fox News noted that recently Fetterman had to use a computer equipped with closed-caption technology in order to conduct an interview with NBC reporter Dasha Burns.
Pennsylvania Lt. Governor and Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman sat down with @DashaBurns in an exclusive interview using closed captioning.
Fetterman discussed his recovery after suffering a stroke in the primaries and his race against Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz. pic.twitter.com/0fee1cKXgY
— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) October 11, 2022
“In small talk before the interview, without captioning, it wasn’t clear he was understanding our conversation,” Burns was quoted as telling “NBC Nightly News” host Lester Holt.