John Fetterman Basically Says Brain Damage & Almost Dying Made Him a Right-Wing Provocateur

The ostensibly Democratic senator from Pennsylvania has spent the last seven months cheering on the Israeli government's war crimes, mocking and attacking pro-Palestine activists, and generally being a massive, unrepentant asshole.

By Kylie Cheung  |  June 10, 2024 | 4:32pm
Photo: Getty Images Politics
John Fetterman Basically Says Brain Damage & Almost Dying Made Him a Right-Wing Provocateur

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) stopped by Real Time with Bill Maher this weekend for what can only be described as a nightmare blunt rotation. And the conversation between these two deeply annoying white men who have convinced themselves they’re the freest of thinkers was as insufferable as you’d expect.

Fetterman, you’ll recall, has spent the better part of the last seven months cheering on the Israeli government’s war crimes, and even criticizing the Biden administration for the most tepid, ineffective rebukes of Israel. As Fetterman has obviously been alienated from the left for his cruelty, his politics have taken a right-wing turn beyond Israel—he’s recently bragged about not being “woke” and expressed support for Trumpian, anti-immigrant policies contrary to the rhetoric he campaigned on in 2022. Speaking to Maher, Fetterman explained his right-wing transformation in the dumbest terms possible, seemingly attributing this shift to brain damage incurred by his stroke and other health ailments.

“There’s a line from the first Batman, Joker, he’s like, ‘I’ve already been dead once already. It’s very liberating,’” Fetterman said. “That’s not reckless, that’s just freeing. It’s just freeing in a way. And I just think after beating all of that, I just really want to be able to say the things that I have to really believe in, and not be afraid of if there’s any kind of blowback.”

Fetterman’s comments have since drawn a good amount of online attention, particularly from his critics—not as the inspirational story of being “liberated” by a near-death experience that he seems to be peddling but as an explanation for his increasingly erratic, wildly offensive behaviors. His growing rap sheet as a conservative provocateur includes laughing at veterans arrested for protesting Israel’s attacks on Gaza, stating point-blank that he is “not a progressive” despite running and fundraising as one, and posing for a photo with a New York City councilwoman who was arrested for bringing a gun to a pro-Palestine rally. I, personally, have questions about whether these are the actions of a mentally stable person!

Also in his conversation with Maher, Fetterman emphasized his support for Biden insisting he “[believes] Joe Biden has that ability to win,” and that Biden is “the only Democrat that could win.” But in April, Fetterman responded to Biden’s comments weighing the possibility of limiting aid to Israel after a deadly attack by Israel killed Americans, by telling CNN, “It’s astonishing that we are not standing firmly with Israel. There should never be any time for conditions—all of that when a nation can launch hundreds of drones towards Israel—and I’m not going to be talking about conditions ever.”

“The president is entitled to his own views and whatever he decides to do, but I would never capitulate to the fringe,” Fetterman continued. (By “fringe,” he was referring to the majority of American voters demanding a ceasefire in Gaza.) Fetterman even suggested Biden’s position was “[empowering] Hamas,” because “Hamas is actually convinced that they are winning the PR war.”

Per the latest reporting by Al Jazeera, at least 37,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including more than 15,000 children. Last week, the United Nations warned that by mid-July, about half the population of Gaza could face starvation and death. There’s something especially sick about Fetterman wielding his experience of almost dying from a stroke to justify his extremism, while thousands are actually dying from his policies. That should speak volumes about his grip on reality.

 
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