It sounds like the old loyal Democrat persona is coming back to Senator John Fetterman (D-PA). He is reminding Democrats that those who criticize President Biden are helping Donald Trump.
Normally that opinion would be true. This is not a normal presidential election though, and I think that the Democrats criticizing Biden are signaling that they are open to finding a different candidate. The Hur report allowed Democrats to end their silence to speak out that Biden may not be up for a second term as president. I would argue that he has not been up for his first term because the country is in a mess. Many Democrats are still willing to claim that Biden has been a successful president. Loyalty isn’t always logical.
Conservatives have been impressed with Senator Fetterman’s actions lately. Fetterman ran as a run-of-the-mill progressive in Pennsylvania. He was given a huge break due to his Republican opponent, Dr. Oz, and the terrible campaign he ran against Fetterman. Fetterman suffered a life-threatening stroke during the campaign. Since that time, it has been hard to ignore a change in tone and attitude.
Instead of sounding like a member of The Squad in the House, he sounds like an old-school Democrat. Those are few and far between these days. Most Democrats have aligned themselves with the progressive left.
When the Hamas massacres were carried out in Israel on October 7, 2023, the ugly antisemitic truth was exposed on the left. Fetterman didn’t hesitate to show his support for Israel. He hasn’t been one to bloviate about both sides kinds of arguments or to call for a ceasefire. He wants Israel to be allowed to destroy Hamas and protect itself from those who want to destroy both Israel and all Jews in general.
Fetterman put up posters of the hostages held in Gaza since the attacks of October 7 in his senate office. He waves an Israeli flag as he walks past pro-Hamas protesters. When the protesters came to harass him at his home, he went up on the roof and waved an Israeli flag.
John Fetterman is a Democrat who criticizes Biden for not securing the southern border.
It should be remembered, though, that Fetterman is a Democrat. While some of us like what he has been serving up lately, the fact remains that he is on Team Biden in this presidential election. His loyalty to Biden comes from when Biden went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for Fetterman in his senate race. He has said in interviews that he will always be grateful for that.
So, it makes sense that Fetterman is sending a warning that Democrats might want to stop criticizing Biden as freely as they do now. In a race between Biden and Trump, Fetterman is a Biden guy. He said that critics may as well put on a MAGA hat.
Today Fetterman was asked on MSNBC what he thinks is the biggest issue for Pennsylvanians in this presidential year.
“I think the most important issue is just like, what do we want for this state and what do we want for this nation? And… kind of for the world order as well, too. It’s going to be very competitive, as well, too. And the president is going to win here in Pennsylvania. And I’ve always believed that whoever wins Pennsylvania is going to be the next president as well, too. This is going to be difficult. We all have to lean in on that,” he said during his media appearance.
He added that there were “all kinds of Democrats” criticizing the president “too publicly,” and said, “I don’t understand why. I don’t know what it’s in it for you to do that, whether you’re just chasing clout or you want to make it in the news or anything like that. But, if you’re not willing to support the president now and say these kinds of things, you might as well just get your MAGA hat, because you now are helping Trump at this.”
Criticize Biden if they must but do it privately, not in public where everyone will hear. Pennsylvania is an important swing state. The winner in Pennsylvania has won 11 of the last 13 elections. That includes Trump in 2016 and Biden in 2020. Fetterman believes that a presidential candidate cannot win without Pennsylvania. He acknowledged it will be a tight race but he thinks Biden will win.
Democratic strategist James Carville and others like Obama adviser David Axelrod have expressed their concern that Biden may not be up to winning in November. After Carville began to weigh in on Biden’s chances, Fetterman told him to “shut the f*** up.” He did it in December and he took the opportunity to do so again today.
Fetterman was asked about Trump being ahead of Biden in the polls. He rightly said it is a political lifetime between now and November. He’s not worried about Biden winning.
And I’m very vocal about this, too, while there are Democrats that are being very critical about the president… I’ll use this [as] another opportunity to tell James Carville to shut the f— up.”
There ya go. It’s important to not get too carried away with appreciation when Fetterman sounds reasonable and is on the right side of history. Fetterman is a Democrat and that hasn’t changed. He consistently votes for Biden’s agenda. He deserves credit when credit is due. The political atmosphere is so divided that when a Democrat acts normally, it attracts attention. In the meantime, I’ll continue to enjoy when he rises to the occasion on the important stuff.