Fetterman’s health issues are well documented, and Democrats defended him during the 2022 campaign. Some believe his support for Israel is why progressive are suddenly discussing his mental health and inability to serve.
When John Fetterman, then Pennsylvania’s Democratic Lieutenant Governor, ran for one of the Commonwealth’s two seats in the United States Senate, the hoodie-wearing, heavily tattooed politician was the darling of liberals and progressives. During that 2022 race, he repeatedly refused to call himself a progressive, yet the media showered him in coverage with the description, reporting on his “brand” of a hoodie and gym shorts, his willingness to “appeal to people in these forgotten towns.” Despite having a stroke during the 2022 election, he stayed in the race and eventually won the Senate seat.
Three years later, Sen. Fetterman has drawn the ire of progressives and was the subject of a New York Magazine expose quoting a number of former aides concerned over his mental and cognitive abilities. Fetterman responded to the article, dismissing the criticism, calling it a “dumb hit piece” from former staffers with a “bizarre grudge.”
Some on the right believe the knives are out for Fetterman because he departed from Democrat Party orthodoxy on several important issues. Fellow Sen. Markwayne Mullin, a Republican from Oklahoma, told Fox News that progressives and Democrats “realized that Fetterman’s his own man” who is “gonna speak his mind” and cannot be controlled.
Many conservative and pro-Israel commentators believe progressives’ change of heart began after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. Fetterman came to the staunch defense of Israel and called for the complete elimination of Hamas, much to the chagrin of progressive activists who have routinely rallied against Israel. According to Commentary Magazine, Fetterman “continues to enjoy high poll numbers among his own constituents.”
In an analysis of the New York Magazine article, it was noted that discontent among staff and progressive activists began October 18, 2023, less than two weeks after Hamas’ attack.
Since that report earlier this month, media outlets have piled on. Criticism has expanded beyond his recovery from the 2022 stroke and a subsequent hospitalization for clinical depression. A recent article detailed the comments from a number of experts and academics who insisted that Fetterman is not the progressives that progressives wished him to be. Noting his political stances in previous elected positions and his willingness to meet with newly reelected President Donald Trump. Any staff change in Fetterman’s office is reported, often as part of “a stream of staff exits” in connection with the senator’s mental health.
Self-described liberal magazine The New Statesman called Sen. Fetterman “unstable” and characterized his “refusal to resign…another instance of a public figure’s ruptured mentality.” Slate framed concern over Fetterman’s health as an example of the epidemic of the “middle-aged everyman” ignoring warning signs over their own well-being.
Reports detailing outbursts and confrontations have continued, with the Washington Post alleging a blow-up between Fetterman and fellow Democrat Sen. Patty Murray over a resolution condemning Trump’s pardon of Jan. 6 participants.
Questions and accusations over a “coordinated smear campaign” of Fetterman continue. While Fetterman has gotten support from Republican colleagues, some Democrats are now coming to his defense. Democratic Rep Ritchie Torres of New York said the “coordinated campaign against Senator John Fetterman is his unapologetic pro-Israel politics.”
