News/Commentary

Dems come for Fetterman after too many bouts of free thinking

May 6, 2025 | | Print Article

Leftist lockstep featured heavily in the stark contrast of commentary of one Democrat senator, whose bouts of freethinking had them raising concerns over his “mental health.”

For all the talk of individualism and nonconformity, the Democratic Party and its corporate media echo chamber appeared to have a genuine issue with members from their side of the aisle straying from an approved script.

Standing out among the crowd for more than his size and casual fashion commitment, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman’s post-stroke recovery is only now becoming a concern for commentators who previously admonished any who dared suggest the then-severely speech-impaired candidate run for Senate in 2022.

Using a recent article featured in New York Magazine’s Intelligencer by Ben Terris titled “All By Himself” as the touchstone of their talking points, leftists who counted themselves among his most ardent defenders at the time are now speaking out against the ardent pro-Israel lawmaker, just in time to setup a “robust primary.”

“Former and current staffers paint a picture of an erratic senator who has become almost impossible to work for and whose mental-health situation is more serious and complicated than previously reported,” wrote Terris. “No one is saying every controversial position (for example, his respectful relationship with Trump) stems from his mental health — but it’s become harder for them to tell which ones do.”

In one example of the dichotomy, Fox News reported that, in since-deleted posts, MSNBC contributor Rotimi Adeoye said, “The Fetterman story is troubling — not just because of chaotic staff allegations, but because someone clearly still struggling with their mental health shouldn’t be in such a high-stakes role. The only solution is political: Fetterman should resign. PA Dems need a robust primary.”

By contrast, the commentator had previously asserted, “Our country is better off because John Fetterman is in the Senate.”

Still posted to Adeoye’s X account was his bristling at Fetterman’s opposition to a nuclear Iran that read, “Fetterman tweeting like a neocon is not what I expected. Weirdly, Tucker Carlson has a better take than Fetterman on Iran.”

Likewise, MSNBC castoff Mehdi Hasan said before the 2022 election that sent Fetterman to the Senate, “Imagine being a sentient human being who really believes John Fetterman can’t be a senator because he had a stroke, but a stroke-free Herschel Walker can be a senator.”

Highlighting the Intelligencer piece, Hasan said last week, “This email, a year ago, from Fetterman’s former chief of staff, and this entire piece from Ben Terris, makes clear that Fetterman should not be serving in the Senate. Every Senate Democrat should read this and be asked about it — especially [Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer.”

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes went a step further when the host reminded Terris he had spoken with Fetterman well before the stroke and after it, but seemingly only now saw the concern about the senator’s mental health.

Having fled X for Blue Sky, podcast host Kara Swisher wrote there, “This is so sad and Ben Terris handles it with fairness and empathy. Having had a stroke, I can say meds and self care is key to a good recovery and a great life. This was also so avoidable and the twisting of Fetterman’s massive political skills is painful to read.”

This is so sad and Ben Terris handles it with fairness and empathy. Having had a stroke, I can say meds and self care is key to a good recovery and a great life. This was also so avoidable and the twisting of Fetterman’s massive political skills is painful to read: nymag.com/intelligence…

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— Kara Swisher (@karaswisher.bsky.social) May 2, 2025 at 7:28 AM

By contrast, Swisher reminded in the wake of then-NBC News journalist Dasha Burns’ interview with Fetterman that she herself had spoken with the Democrat “for over an hour without stop or any aides.” She said suggesting he had cognitive challenges was “just nonsense.” “Maybe this reporter is just bad at small talk.”

Bolstering the Intelligencer’s claim against Fetterman, the smear campaign against him included resurfaced footage of him arguing on a plane to peg him as mentally unstable. Terris shared the anonymous accounts of the senator’s own employees and wrote, “Many of the staffers I spoke with are angry. They are troubled. And they are sad. These were some of Fetterman’s truest believers, and they now question his fitness to be a senator. They worry he may present a risk to the Democratic Party and maybe even to himself.”

While other examples stood out, the consensus remains that the lawmaker’s occasional moderate positions weren’t welcome in the party and that his tenure in the Senate had, like then-President Joe Biden’s in the White House, outlived its usefulness.

Kevin Haggerty
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