Time for John Fetterman to retire
To Palm Beach, with Mar-a-Lago in easy reach
Note: See update for June 11, 2025, at end of post.
It’s getting really close to time for John Fetterman to admit he’s gone full MAGA (white Christian nationalist): He was sighted “dining in [Washington] D.C.’s top MAGA hangout Butterworth’s on Monday evening. Fetterman was joined by Breitbart’s Matt Boyle, plus — for a good 20 minutes or so — Steve Bannon.”[1]
We don’t know what they talked about or what they said.[2] But the evidence is overwhelming that Pennsylvanians no longer have the senator[3] they voted for[4] and there is something to be said about his journeying to a “MAGA hangout” rather than having Boyle and Bannon meet him on more neutral turf.[5]
For me, the turnabout seems to have come with Donald Trump’s election victory last year and so it would be possible to understand all this as Fetterman sticking his finger in the political wind. Which of course would be to say, now utterly unsurprisingly, he is more of a typical politician than the man progressives thought they were supporting.
I’ve always harbored doubts about Fetterman: His toxically masculine style, which appeals to the many toxically masculine men in Pittsburgh, was one thing. His love for Sheetz, a convenience store chain, frequently expressed on Twitter, struck me as unseemly. Then I learned about him jumping in his pickup truck to brandish a shotgun at a Black jogger.[6] It’s like, man, this is completely the wrong picture.
But it propelled Fetterman to a six-year term in the U.S. Senate.[7] We’re probably stuck with him through 2028. It’s pretty reasonable to expect he’ll face a primary challenge that year, if he seeks re-election,[8] as polls suggest he’s losing popularity among Democrats[9] and if he loses, he won’t make it, at least as a Democrat, to the general election to pick up support from the Republicans he’s appealing to.
Fetterman has emphatically denied he will switch parties[10] though that would seem to be his best bet. And if indeed he harbors presidential aspirations,[11] his opponents will have a field day with his erratic performance since his stroke and bout with depression.[12]
Fetterman has also denied he will resign. But it’s overwhelmingly clear he’s lost interest in being a senator.[13]And he seems to have demolished any political future for himself.
Not a lot makes sense with Fetterman. For me, it never has. It may be time for him to retire to Palm Beach, within easy reach of Mar-a-Lago. After all, he’s now “[Donald] Trump’s favorite Democrat.”[14] They’d just have to get Sheetz to open a location down there.
Update, June 11, 2025: Leigh Ann Caldwell at Puck takes on speculation that John Fetterman may switch parties. Her analysis pretty much parallels my own though she highlights a concern that Fetterman would increase the Republican majority in the Senate,[15] a concern I paid no attention to at all. But also like me, she sees Fetterman as a lame duck, certain to be primaried in 2028, and certain to lose.[16]
One nugget in her reporting is Fetterman’s reply that people are “weaponizing” his depression,[17] which seems to me to confirm that he does not have it under control, perhaps because he is indeed off his medication.[18]
Whatever. He is, at best, doing the bare minimum for Pennsylvanians who deserve better.
[1] Jack Blanchard, “The LA standoff Trump wanted,” Politico, June 10, 2025,https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2025/06/10/the-la-standoff-trump-wanted-00396024
[2] Jack Blanchard, “The LA standoff Trump wanted,” Politico, June 10, 2025,https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2025/06/10/the-la-standoff-trump-wanted-00396024
[3] 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/
[4] 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; 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
[5] Jack Blanchard, “The LA standoff Trump wanted,” Politico, June 10, 2025,https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2025/06/10/the-la-standoff-trump-wanted-00396024
[6] 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/
[7] 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; 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
[8] Ross Barkan, “John Fetterman Has an Expiration Date in the Senate,” New York, June 4, 2025, https://apple.news/Ap0c-kbJvS9eUwb76XfmbeA
[9] Holly Otterbein, “Internal polling shows Fetterman’s support is tanking with Democrats in his backyard,” Politico, May 9, 2025, https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/09/senator-fetterman-poll-pittsburgh-pennsylvania-00337505; Julia Terruso, “Sen. Fetterman has low approval among Pa. Democratic primary voters, new poll shows,” Philadelphia Inquirer, June 2, 2025, https://www.inquirer.com/politics/john-fetterman-approval-rating-pennsylvania-democrat-voters-20250602.html
[10] Burgess Everett, “Fetterman shoots down party switch rumors: ‘Not going to happen,’” Semafor, January 20, 2025, https://www.semafor.com/article/01/20/2025/fetterman-shoots-down-party-switch-rumors-not-going-to-happen
[11] Ben Terris, “All By Himself,” New York, May 2, 2025, https://apple.news/Ajull2_fbQtSIler841ivGQ
[12] 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/
[13] Philadelphia Inquirer, “Pa. voters sent John Fetterman to represent them in the Senate. On most days, he has other ideas,” June 1, 2025, https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/editorials/john-fetterman-missed-votes-mental-health-senate-20250601.html; Ben Terris, “All By Himself,” New York, May 2, 2025, https://apple.news/Ajull2_fbQtSIler841ivGQ
[14] 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/
[15] Leigh Ann Caldwell, “The Invisible Fetterman,” Puck, June 11, 2025, https://puck.news/john-fettermans-rightward-realignment/
[16] Leigh Ann Caldwell, “The Invisible Fetterman,” Puck, June 11, 2025, https://puck.news/john-fettermans-rightward-realignment/
[17] Leigh Ann Caldwell, “The Invisible Fetterman,” Puck, June 11, 2025, https://puck.news/john-fettermans-rightward-realignment/
[18] Ben Terris, “All By Himself,” New York, May 2, 2025, https://apple.news/Ajull2_fbQtSIler841ivGQ