‘Very racist': ‘De facto’ Senate candidate Gisele Fetterman makes bizarre claim about swimming

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Biden predicts Gisele Fetterman will be 'great, great lady in the Senate'

President Biden said Thursday that Gisele Fetterman, wife of Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman, will be a "great, great lady in the Senate," after his microphone temporarily stopped working in Pittsburgh.

Gisele Fetterman, the wife of Pennsylvania Senate candidate Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, claimed that "swimming in America is very racist," weeks after being called the "de facto candidate" in her husband's Senate race following his stroke.

Gisele began speaking about the lieutenant governor's mansion in Pennsylvania and how the couple wanted to open up the pool to the public in an effort to "right some of the wrongs" of "racist" swimming.

"While we did not want the mansion, that mansion came with a pool I wanted. And the dream was to make this a public pool and turn it into the people’s pool and ensure that young people across Pennsylvania could learn how to swim and water safety and kind of work to right some of the wrongs," Gisele stated during her segment with the "iGen Politics" podcast.

"Historically, swimming in America is very racist, and usually when you look at drowning statistics, it usually affects children of color because of lack of access," she claimed.

BIDEN PREDICTS GISELE FETTERMAN WILL BE ‘GREAT, GREAT LADY IN THE SENATE’

John Fetterman, lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania and Democratic senate candidate, center, and his wife Gisele. (Justin Merriman/Bloomberg)

Fetterman's campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment, asking if he, too, believed swimming in America is historically racist.

The remark came after a Rolling Stone reporter called Gisele the "de facto candidate" in the Pennsylvania Senate race for her role in the campaign following her husband's stroke. The reporter later deleted the tweet and altered her description of Gisele from being the "de facto candidate" to a "key surrogate for her husband."

ROLLING STONE WRITER DELETES TWEET REFERRING TO MRS. FETTERMAN AS ‘DE FACTO CANDIDATE’ SINCE HUSBAND'S STROKE

Amid the swirling rumors that Gisele would play a role in the Senate if her husband were to win this fall, President Biden recently made an ambiguous claim that Gisele is "gonna be a great, great lady in the Senate." 

Gisele Barreto Fetterman, the wife of Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said that "when you look at drowning statistics, it usually affects children of color because of lack of access." (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)

During Biden's visit with the Fettermans in Pennsylvania, Gisele spoke for her husband while he stood next to her, telling reporters that he would not be answering any of their questions.

Fetterman is currently running in one of the most closely watched Senate races of the 2022 midterm elections, against Republican nominee Dr. Mehmet Oz. The two sparred in their first and only debate on Tuesday, a matchup that prompted major concerns over Fetterman's health and ability to serve if he were to win the election this fall. 

Pennsylvania Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman participated in a debate with his GOP challenger, Dr. Mehmet Oz, on Tuesday. (NewsNation)

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Due to his auditory-processing issues, Fetterman requested closed captioning during the debate, but he still appeared to struggle in delivering his responses. Although the Democrat claimed his doctor had cleared him as able to "work full duty in public office," he has refused to release his full medical records to the public.

Fox News' Kyle Morris contributed to this report.