Gisele Fetterman says husband may not return to campaign trail for another month

Pennsylvania Democratic Senate nominee John Fetterman’s wife told CNN on Tuesday that the candidate may not return to the campaign trail until July after suffering a stroke and disclosing the full extent of his heart condition.

“I think he deserves a month break to come back as strong as ever,” Gisele Fetterman said. “This is going to be a tough race and a really important race. I want him to be fully ready for it.”

When asked by the outlet if he would return to the campaign trail in July, she said “I think so.”

John Fetterman announced that he had experienced a stroke on May 15, two days after the medical event occurred. Four days after his stroke, Fetterman won the party’s nomination to compete for the the Keystone State’s seat in the upper chamber.

Since then, Fetterman has undergone a procedure to receive a pacemaker with a defibrillator, which the campaign said would address Fetterman’s atrial fibrillation.

Earlier this month, Fetterman released a statement disclosing that he failed to follow up with his medical team after being diagnosed in 2017 with cardiomyopathy, a disease that makes it harder for the heart to pump blood throughout the body.

The campaign also released a letter from Fetterman’s cardiologist saying that the candidate’s health conditions shouldn’t pose any risk to Fetterman’s ability to campaign, so long as he follows his doctors’ advice.

Fetterman has not appeared in public since the stroke.

Gisele Fetterman pushed back on suggestions that her husband had not been transparent about his health, adding that the campaign was not opposed to the release of more information by Fetterman’s doctors, but Lancaster General Hospital has a policy of not talking about patient care.

“I think we’ve been incredibly transparent,” she told CNN.

Gisele Fetterman, who serves as Pennsylvania’s second lady, has stepped into the spotlight since her husband’s stroke, taking a central presence on the campaign trail since the candidate was temporarily sidelined for his health.

The Hill has reached out to the hospital for comment.

John Fetterman will face Republican nominee Mehmet Oz in November’s race, which is among the most closely watched contests of the 2022 midterm elections. 

Republicans are defending the seat after Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) announced his retirement, and Democrats have eyed the race as a prime pickup opportunity in a state that President Biden only narrowly carried in 2020.