I disagree with Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) about 98% of the time. But I like that he won’t cave or toe the line, especially regarding Israel.
But it also seems that Fetterman is one of the few politicians in D.C. who is grounded in reality regarding other issues.
In an interview with New York Times reporter Lulu Garcia-Navarro, Fetterman defended Israel, lashed out at Democrats over the border, and warned the party about former President Donald Trump’s connection to Pennsylvania.
Garcia-Navarro tried to get him to denounce Israel regarding the pager attack.
Fetterman reminded Garcia-Navarro that Hezbollah and only Hezbollah are responsible for anyone injured or killed by the exploding pager:
Last month, the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh chapters of the Council on American Islamic Relations issued a joint statement where they condemned you for saying that you loved Israel’s pager attacks targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon. I do. Absolutely.They said, “When our elected officials start condoning the civilian loss of life, our collective moral compass is irreparably harmed.” It was targeted for members of Hezbollah. You know, no one uses beepers in that situation other than they were a member of Hezbollah.There was a young child who was killed. Unfortunately, tragically, because Daddy was a member of Hezbollah. He brought that danger and evil into their home. And that’s what tragically resulted in that poor child’s death. And that’s what’s so terrible. She paid the price because her father was a terrorist for Hezbollah.
Fetterman has shown disbelief towards his party regarding the border in the past.
Fetterman also hasn’t caved to his party regarding immigration and border security:
I want to ask you about one other place where you’ve been at odds with your party, which is on immigration. You understood that it was something that was going to affect people in your state and beyond. It’s a huge issue.The party has now embraced enforcement at the border, but comprehensive immigration reform means legalization as well. What posture do you think the party should be adopting? How can the Democratic Party really deal with what has become a very, very divisive issue within it? It’s like, why is it controversial to say that we’re going to need a secure border? And when you started looking at the numbers that were showing up, and at some months that’s the population of Pittsburgh. And so, I mean, that’s a real issue. Trying to tell people, well, don’t believe your eyes, it’s going to be OK, it’s all working out. It’s not. And I’m the most pro-immigration guy there is. But that has to be compatible with a secure border, and I will never listen to anyone’s other side until you can explain, like, how? How do we take care of them? Where did those resources come from? And where do they go? Nobody could provide a serious answer to that.
Fetterman has also been warning his party that Trump has a connection to Pennsylvania.
The exchange with Garcia-Navarro took a funny turn because he had to explain “truck nuts” to her:
You’ve said that Trump has a special connection with the people of Pennsylvania. One hundred percent.Why? What is it that you see that he appeals to in your state? There’s a difference between not understanding, but also acknowledging that it exists. And anybody spends time driving around, and you can see the intensity. It’s astonishing. I was doing an event in Indiana County. Very, very red. And there was a superstore of Trump stuff, and it was a hundred feet long, and it was dozens of T-shirts and hats and bumper stickers and all kinds of, I mean, it’s like, Where does this all come from? It’s the kind of thing that has taken on its own life. And it’s like something very special exists there. And that doesn’t mean that I admire it. It’s just — it’s real. And now [Elon] Musk is joining him. I mean, to a lot of people, that’s Tony Stark. That’s the world’s richest guy. And he’s obviously, and undeniably, a brilliant guy, and he’s saying, Hey, that’s my guy for president. That’s going to really matter.What do you think it does? I was truly alarmed about that when he started showing up. I mean, I’ve been there, not at that rally [in Pennsylvania], but when they were having the A.I. conference in Washington, he showed up at my building at Russell, and senators were like, [Fetterman’s voice gets very high] Ooh, ooh. They were like, I got to have two minutes, you know, please. So if senators are all like ooh! Then can you imagine what voters in Scranton or all across Pennsylvania — you know, in some sense, he’s a bigger star than Trump. Endorsements, they’re really not meaningful often, but this one is, I think. That has me concerned.Pennsylvania is a place with a lot of union workers. Did it make you nervous that the Teamsters, for example, didn’t back a Democrat for president? Well, I think that’s finally making the grass roots more official. I’ll never forget, I live directly across the street from the steel mill, and we were doing an event there for [Hillary] Clinton, and I asked the union president, Hey, where are we on Trump? And he’s like, Yeah, probably half or 60 percent to two-thirds are voting for him. And I was like, Oh, that sucks. And then immediately there was a guy, he had a truck, and he had truck nuts on it. You know what truck nuts are?Do I look as if I know what truck nuts are? It’s balls hung on the hitch of a truck, and he honked, and he was like, “Go Trump!” as he drove by, and it’s like, Hey, we’re in trouble and it’s undeniable. And some unions like [S.E.I.U.] and the government kinds of unions are still very, very Democratic. But those others, I think a lot of their membership, for a lot of people, Trump has that kind of a connection. That’s real. I witnessed that. And that’s why I’m concerned, and that’s why polls were inaccurate. And that’s why now I’m saying we got to fight for every last vote. It’s going to matter.
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