Fetterman camp says tech errors hampered nominee's debate, host says equip 'functioned as expected'

The campaign of Pennsylvania Democratic Senate nominee John Fetterman says the media company that hosted Tuesday night's debate created "errors" in closed captioning, causing problems for Fetterman.

However, the company, Nexstar, says the captioning, which Fetterman needed as a result of stroke this past spring, "functioned as expected."

Fetterman campaign spokesperson Joe Calvello told news outlets his candidate was "was working off of delayed captions filled with errors" but that Fetterman nevertheless "did remarkably well tonight – especially when you consider that he’s still recovering from a stroke.

Fetterman in the debate clearly showed signs he continues to face challenges with speaking and auditory processing. His Republican opponent, Dr. Mehmet Oz, agreed to allow Fetterman to use closed captioning in the debate so he could read every word from Oz and the moderators on screens displayed in front of him in the auditorium.

Nexstar communications chief Gary Weitman said the Fetterman's campaign did not take advantage of all opportunities to practice before the debate.

He said Fetterman chose to attend only one rehearsal with the closed-captioning service when he was offered the opportunity for two rehearsals.

"In fact, Nexstar’s production team went to extraordinary lengths to ensure the effectiveness of the closed captioning process, and to accommodate several last-minute requests of the Fetterman campaign," Weitman continued. "The closed captioning process functioned as expected during rehearsal and again during tonight’s debate. We regret that Mr. Fetterman and his campaign feel otherwise."