Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman finally “returned” to the campaign trail after ignoring his doctor for years and suffering a massive stroke. That “return” looked a lot like box-checking for the senate candidate, though.

In what was obviously a tightly controlled environment, Fetterman only appeared for 11 minutes, wearing a hoodie in summer weather and being backed up by his wife. Now, the first footage of the event has been revealed, and it shows a man who is not alright.

John Fetterman is not okay. pic.twitter.com/3xiQwiBaT3

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) August 15, 2022

Multiple times throughout his brief remarks, Fetterman, who is facing Republican Mehmet Oz, seemed to completely blank out before returning to his incredibly generic remarks. That’s almost certainly a remnant of the stroke and something that the Democrat has been unwilling to be transparent about. To this point, he’s hidden behind his social media personality, carefully crafted by staffers to make him appear quick-witted and funny. What was shown on that stage was anything but that, though.

That’s a problem for Fetterman because his entire campaign has been predicated on an image that isn’t real. With the facade finally off, voters will finally see him for what he really is, which is an awkward, unhealthy man with radical positions.

Pennsylvania Democrat Senate candidate John Fetterman says he wants to eliminate the Senate filibuster. pic.twitter.com/qQZG1vpW66

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 15, 2022

Is it any wonder Fetterman won’t agree to any debates? Imagine seeing that guy on stage for two hours and walking away still thinking he’s fit to be a US senator. Not only is he clearly suffering physically and mentally from the stroke, but there’s nothing articulate or engaging about him. That he’s spewing leftwing talking points that sound like they were lifted from a marginal Twitter account only makes things worse. Do Pennsylvanians want to eliminate the filibuster? Do they want a man who will just be a rubber stamp for whatever Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer shove in front of him?

That’s a question that will be answered in November, but for the first time in this race, we are finally seeing what’s real. Fetterman is a bad candidate with serious health issues that has no business even being in this race. His basement campaign strategy is unsustainable in an environment where COVID-19 isn’t an all-encompassing excuse to remain out of the public eye. The more Fetterman is seen, the more he will be exposed for the fraud that he is, and eventually, he’s going to have to do an extended debate. When that happens, things could get really ugly.

A lot of Republicans have been down on Oz as a candidate, but I think that’s premature doomsaying. Senate polling has been notoriously awful and biased toward Democrats the last two cycles (something I recently chronicled). The truth is that we have no idea where this race actually stands. Now is the time to press the issue and make Fetterman face a real challenge.