John Fetterman's forked tongue
Is it mental health or pandering to the right?
Yes, I told you so. But 1) there’s more to it than that; and 2) I wish I had been wrong.
I have been deeply suspicious of John Fetterman since I learned of an incident where he jumped in his pickup truck and brandished a shotgun at a Black jogger who—it rapidly turned out—had absolutely nothing to do with the gunshots Fetterman had heard.[1] Genuine progressives flatly do not do this sort of thing. His refusal to apologize for his blatant racism is merely icing on this particular cake.
But Fetterman advocated legal recreational cannabis, LGBTQ+ rights, and other progressive causes.[2] And in part on the strength of progressive support, he won a seat in the U.S. Senate[3] despite suffering a stroke days before the Pennsylvania primary. Fetterman was less than fully forthcoming about his health when questions arose about the treatment he had received[4] (it turned out he also “suffers from both atrial fibrillation and cardiomyopathy”[5]) I think because toxic masculinity prevents him from being so.
And so it is somewhat less than surprising that he responds to questions regarding his mental health—he suffered a serious episode of depression following his election victory—with absolute denial, even as he has gone from being a faux progressive to being “[Donald] Trump’s favorite Democrat,” drives so recklessly that his staff refuse to ride with him, seemingly has lost interest in being a senator, and otherwise behaves erratically, with a categorical denial, accusing his detractors of being disgruntled ex-employees.[6]
That said, much of Fetterman’s turn to the right seems to have occurred since the 2024 election, which saw Trump carry Pennsylvania along with enough of the rest of the country to win. Fetterman might simply want to keep his job and may judge a right turn to reflect his purplish constituency. He is—or was—also, apparently, on the shortlist of possible candidates for the presidency in 2028; California governor Gavin Newsom also seems to be making an effort to get white Christian nationalists to hate him less and no one seems to be talking about Newsom’s mental health.
I don’t know to what extent Fetterman is indeed suffering from mental health issues or to what extent he may simply being playing to the right. I don’t much care. I don’t trust him either way.
[1] Stephen Caruso, “Fetterman justifies — but does not apologize for — chasing down and brandishing shotgun at Black jogger while Braddock mayor,” Pennsylvania Capital-Star, February 10, 2021, https://penncapital-star.com/briefs/fetterman-justifies-but-does-not-apologize-for-chasing-down-and-brandishing-shotgun-at-black-jogger-while-braddock-mayor/
[2] Holly Otterbein, “John Fetterman launches Senate bid in Pennsylvania,” Politico, February 8, 2021, https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/08/fetterman-senate-pennsylvania-466932
[3] Aaron Zitner, “John Fetterman Wins Key Senate Race in Pennsylvania, Defeating Mehmet Oz,” Wall Street Journal, November 9, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/election-midterms-2022/card/oW3cFfkuo97s4Fa2Q9Sl
[4] Tom Avril and Julia Terruso, “John Fetterman got a defibrillator after his stroke. But doctors say the campaign’s story ‘doesn’t make sense,’” Philadelphia Inquirer, May 26, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/john-fetterman-stroke-health-pacemaker-defibrillator-afib-20220526.html
[5] Dan Merica, “Fetterman’s cardiologist says Democrat, who had stroke, suffers from atrial fibrillation and Cardiomyopathy,” Cable News Network, June 3, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/03/politics/john-fetterman-health/index.html
[6][6] Liz Goodwin and Theodoric Meyer, “An isolated, angry Fetterman is yet another challenge for Democrats,” Washington Post, May 16, 2025, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/05/16/john-fetterman-senate-relationships/; Ian Karbal, Peter Hall, and John Cole, “I’m in good health’: Questions surround Fetterman’s fitness for office after report,” Pennsylvania Capital-Star, May 12, 2025, https://penncapital-star.com/government-politics/im-in-good-health-questions-surround-fettermans-fitness-for-office-after-report/; Ben Terris, “All By Himself,” New York, May 2, 2025, https://apple.news/Ajull2_fbQtSIler841ivGQ; Julia Terruso, “Inside Sen. John Fetterman’s office: canceled meetings, skipped votes and an outburst with Pa. teachers,” Philadelphia Inquirer, May 8, 2025, https://www.inquirer.com/politics/john-fetterman-staff-concerns-voting-record-20250508.html; Abby Vesoulis, “How John Fetterman Became ‘Trump’s Favorite Democrat,” Mother Jones, July/August 2025, https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/05/john-fetterman-donald-trump-favorite-democrat/