Rolling Stone writer deletes tweet referring to Mrs. Fetterman as ‘de facto candidate’ since husband’s stroke

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Joe Concha: The press is trying to protect John Fetterman

Fox News contributor Joe Concha discusses the backlash facing NBC reporter Dasha Burns who noted Democratic Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman's health issues.

Rolling Stone reporter Kara Voght tweeted and deleted a post calling Gisele Fetterman the "de facto candidate" for her husband's U.S. Senate campaign after John Fetterman’s stroke.

Voght’s updated tweet changed the description of Mrs. Fetterman from "de facto candidate" to "key surrogate for her husband" in his campaign, seemingly to downplay the impression that John Fetterman is incapable of leading the campaign.

The change came after liberal media outlets and journalists accused NBC reporter Dasha Burns of criticizing Fetterman’s cognitive abilities after she observed that the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate candidate had a "difficult" time with small talk prior to their recent interview.

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John Fetterman, lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania and Democratic senate candidate, speaks during a campaign rally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US, on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. Fetterman and Republican Senate candidate Mehmet Oz are running to replace Republican Senator Pat Toomey, who is retiring. The outcome of the race could decide which party controls the Senate. Photographer: Nate Smallwood/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Gisele Fetterman herself blasted Burns for the comments and argued that the reporter and the network should receive "consequences." 

On liberal author Molly Jong-Fast’s podcast Friday, Mrs. Fetterman called the remarks about her husband "appalling" and a "disservice" to the disabled community and all Americans.

Voght’s now-deleted tweet, originally posted Saturday morning, said, "I wrote about @giselefetterman, and how her husband’s stroke transformed her from a reluctant political spouse to de facto candidate and political star."

The tweet linked to her Rolling Stone report on the topic, titled, "John Fetterman Had a Stroke. Gisele Fetterman Became a Political Star."

As eagle-eyed Twitter users pointed out, the original tweet was deleted and replaced that same morning. The new one read, "I wrote about @giselefetterman and her evolution from reluctant political spouse, to key surrogate for her husband as he recovered from a stroke, to a political force unto herself."

Voght did admit she deleted the original tweet. In a comment on her newer post, she claimed, "I deleted a previous tweet sharing this story in which, in hindsight, I was imprecise with my word choices and what I intended to convey about Gisele’s role."

NBC reporter blasted for her comments about interviewing John Fetterman. (Fox News)

Though she claimed the previous word choice was "imprecise," the characterization was still present in her Rolling Stone article. In the sixth paragraph of the piece, Voght wrote, "Then her husband had a stroke four days before the primary for the U.S. Senate. Suddenly, the reluctant political spouse became the de facto candidate."

Several prominent conservative Twitter users mocked Voght for the deleted tweet. Communications special advisor for Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Steve Guest, asked, "Why’d you delete this tweet? Was it because you said the quiet part out loud?"

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The Spectator contributing editor Stephen L. Miller quipped, "You had it right the first time."

And Hot Air managing editor Ed Morrissey took a screenshot of the still-yet-to-be-updated article in case they do alter and/or delete it. He commented, "Let's screen-shot that as well before they do."

Voght received a nice comment from Mrs. Fetterman herself, who replied to her updated characterization of her role in the campaign with four hearts. 

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Dasha Burns interviews John Fetterman for NBC News. (NBC News / YouTube)