Depending on your political experience and how jaded, or conversely, hopeful you may be, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa) is coming to his senses, finally being true to himself after surfacing from his stroke, or, as some have opined, just trying to appear centrist during the Trump surge.
During his commencement speech at Yeshiva University in May, Fetterman raised some eyebrows when he removed his hood from his academic regalia. He received the hood after earning a Master of Public Policy degree at Harvard's Kennedy School. He told the graduates, “I have been profoundly disappointed [in] Harvard’s inability to stand up for the Jewish community after Oct. 7. Personally, I do not fundamentally believe that it is right for me to wear this today. The Jewish community everywhere deserves our support. And I promise you will always have mine.”
He also sported a bracelet honoring those who were butchered at the Supernova Music Festival in Israel on October 7 and was seen dancing with students and school leaders after commencement exercises. He was also presented with the school's "Hero of Israel" award.
In March, he posted the following to X:
Demand Hamas to surrender.
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) March 3, 2024
Demand release every hostage.
Demand to seize billions of dollars Hamas stole from Gaza.
Demand those stolen billions to rebuild Gaza and compensate true victims- Israelis and Palestinians.
Demand Hamas eliminated or permanently exiled.
Fox News notes that during a Wednesday appearance with Dana Bash on CNN, Fetterman responded to the accusation that he is not the progressive that some thought he was:
I'm not a progressive, I just identified myself as a regular Democrat. Now, eight years ago, I was a progressive, but the situation's changed and I‘ve been very clear that I didn‘t leave that label. That label leaved [left] me and I think it’s much more important to be focusing on Donald Trump instead of those kinds of purity tests and those kinds of issues.
When Bash queried him on Rep. Pramila Jayapal's (D-Wash.) comment that Biden was approaching the border crisis much the same way as Trump might, Fetterman responded:
She's entitled to her own opinion, but it does also seem like some of the harshest words for the president in this situation seems to be more coming from very safe, and blue, very kinds of places. Now in Pennsylvania, border security is an important issue and we do all believe that we should have a secure border, and I never thought it was unreasonable for any Democrat to want to make our border more secure.
Is Fetterman drifting right, as some would like to believe? Doubtful. He is still pulling for a Biden win, and there is no indication that he has changed his stand on issues like abortion. Some contend that in the wake of the post-conviction Trump surge, Fetterman is hedging his bets. That is possible, but not likely, since he still has plenty of time before he has to worry about his re-election campaign.
As a recovering Democrat, my guess is that what appears to be happening to Fetterman is what happened to me. At some point, you realize that the party you believed in is doing all of the things that it accuses its opponents of doing, and somehow manages to look itself in the mirror every day. Fetterman is about 16 years behind me in that respect. And maybe at some point, he will realize that the damage simply cannot be repaired and his party cannot be salvaged.
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