U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, does not seem pleased with scrutiny over his behavior.
It hasn’t been about his language processing in the wake of his 2022 stroke. It hasn’t been about the depression that saw him hospitalized in 2023. It isn’t about his quirky fashion choices or even his step toward the political right over the last 19 months — since the October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel.
Those might be part of it, but over the past two weeks, the story has been about more concerning incidents.
A New York Magazine article notes “staffers past and present say they no longer recognize the man they once knew.” The piece quotes former chief of staff Adam Jentleson, who says he wrote to Fetterman’s doctor in May 2024 expressing concerns over the senator’s behavior and direction.
“I’m worried that if John stays on his current trajectory he won’t be with us for much longer,” Jentleson’s letter was quoted as stating.
Video went viral of a February incident on a plane in which Fetterman argued with the crew over regulations requiring his buckled seat belt to be visible.
But perhaps the most troubling is an incident from just last week. The Associated Press reported that, while meeting with people from a Pennsylvania teachers union, the senator broke down, slamming the table and shouting things like “Why does everyone hate me?”
Fetterman dismisses the criticism. He told NBC News that the New York Magazine story was a “hit piece” relying on Jentleson and anonymous sources. On its own, that would be a reasonable “he said, he said” conclusion.
However, Fetterman’s staffers are not the only ones who can see him as being different today than he was in the 2022 Senate primary or while serving as Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor or while mayor of Braddock.
He always has been willing to push for off-the-beaten-path topics. It is the rare lieutenant governor who flies a marijuana flag, for instance. He always has walked to the rhythm of his own hoodie-and-shorts drum.
Fetterman used to be reliable to his own brand, even if that was a little off-brand for his party or his office. The fact that many members of his party — both in office and online — are confused about what he now represents speaks to the problem. After the teachers union meeting, the AP says the staff member who led people away broke down in tears.
Maybe the senator isn’t happy about the conversation, but it’s appropriate for people to ask questions. His well-documented health issues make it just as important as questions raised over others like Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., or the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., when public incidents provoked concerns.