Herschel Walker Criticized by New York Times For Mental Illness, but John Fetterman Given Pass After Stroke

It's an inarguable fact that major media outlets treat Republicans and Democrats differently, and no better example can be found than how they've handled senatorial candidates Herschel Walker and John Fetterman.

The media bias can be found with regards to how it handles scandals, what ti chooses to cover, or how stories are framed. All of it points to an overwhelming bias toward the left.

But it doesn't just include taking up the progressive cause on every major issue; the media's framing can also extend to how it covers and explains questions around the health and mental fitness of a candidate for political office.

An excellent example of the inherent contradictions is the New York Times and the recent coverage of Georgia Republican Herschel Walker, and Pennsylvania Democratic candidate John Fetterman.

Walker revealed years ago that he suffers from dissociative personality disorder, and referenced his struggles with mental health in a recent television ad.

Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker speaks at a campaign rally a few months before the midterm elections. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

The Times went after him for saying that the was "over" his illness, collecting a group of "experts" to contradict Walker's claim and referencing that he hasn't released medical records.

They say that his condition could recur if triggered, implying that he the rigors of serving in the senate could be too challenging for him:

"But experts say Mr. Walker’s assertion that he has 'overcome' the disorder is simplistic at best: Like other mental illnesses, dissociative identity disorder cannot be cured in the classic sense. Psychiatrists say that while patients can learn to manage this disorder — and even live symptom-free for extended periods — the symptoms can recur, often triggered by stress."

Yet just last month, the Times defended Fetterman, who suffered a stroke earlier and 2022 and who legitimately claimed to use a movie to determine which criminals or murderers to free early.

READ: JOHN FETTERMAN SAYS HE USES SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION TO DECIDE WHETHER TO FREE CRIMINALS

Instead of skeptically referring to his claims that he's fully healed and ready to serve in the senate, the Times accepted them at face value.

Far from convening "experts" to determine whether or not Fetterman is fit, the paper took his word for it, without question.

With Walker, reporters quote doctors saying that his disorder can never be overcome and could recur through stress, but with Fetterman, they unsurprisingly found a more friendly physician who leapt to his defense:

"But, Dr. Schwamm said, the emphasis on Mr. Fetterman’s cognitive tests plays into what he sees as a bias against people who have had strokes. 'It is playing on the fear that a stroke made him vulnerable, weak, incapable of leadership,” he said. 'Judge the guy on his merits.'"

Walker's health condition is an incurable liability, but Fetterman deserves to be judged on his merits and not cognitive tests or the ability to communicate freely and succintly.

It's yet another example of how the media chooses the narrative based on who it wants to succeed.

The New York Times wants Democrats to retain control of the Senate, so reporters run cover for Fetterman's obvious cognitive issues while trying to ramp up concern over Walker.

It's an unsurprising tactic and highlights yet again why many Americans view the media as a bigger threat to democracy than anything else.