Photo: Alamy
Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman has been the subject of many headlines since taking office in early 2023, often for expressing views not in line with the radical agenda of his political party.
The rough-around-the-edges lawmaker caught the media’s attention again on Thursday while speaking at The Atlantic Festival, an event held by the far-left magazine and publisher, The Atlantic.
According to The Hill, Fetterman told the crowd, “Trump has created a special kind of a hold … and he’s remade the party and he has a special kind of place in Pennsylvania.”
To his party’s likely chagrin, Fetterman added, “And I think that only deepened after that first assassination attempt.”
The freshman senator then emphasized Trump’s popularity despite his two impeachments and legal woes. He asked the audience, “What’s left?”
“I also want people to understand, you know, and it’s not science, but there is, there’s energy and there’s kinds of anger on the ground in Pennsylvania, and people are very committed and strong,” Fetterman said. “Trump is going to be strong and … we have to respect that.”
Fetterman told the crowd that he believed Hillary Clinton did better than Trump during the 2016 debates but pointed out that Trump was ultimately victorious.
He bluntly admitted that any new controversies ahead of the election may not make much of a difference to voters. He quipped, “We are living in a permanent October surprise. There’s not a lot of other things that can happen.”
Fetterman said during an August interview, “If you match up Trump and Harris, which I think that’s really what, that this is really about. And I do believe he’s gonna win Pennsylvania, and of course, it’s gonna be close, but I’ve been maintaining that, whether it’s Biden, whether it was Clinton, or whether now it’s with Vice President Harris. It’s gonna be very close.”
Fetterman’s unwavering support for Israel and his acknowledgment of the crisis at the southern border has also perturbed his Democratic colleagues.
He has been willing to work with Republicans on legislation that directly and positively impacts Americans. Shortly after the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, Fetterman joined Sens. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Bob Casey, D-Pennsylvania, to introduce The Railway Safety Act of 2023.