It used to be taken for granted on both sides of the aisle that once the presidential election was over, the country should unite behind the president, whoever he was, and support him for the good of the nation. Disagreements would begin almost immediately, of course, but there used to be what was generally known as a “honeymoon period,” during which politicians of both parties paid tribute to the national unity by wishing the new chief executive all success. But that was in an earlier, less fractious age; now, Sen. John Fetterman (D-But Sane), has landed in hot water with the left for stating what used to be a commonplace sentiment.
Fox News reported Sunday that Fetterman “says he hopes President-elect Trump is successful, and spoke out against those who feel otherwise.” Every senator should be saying the same thing, but Fetterman was one of the few Democrats, if not the only one, to dare to state publicly that Bad Orange Man shouldn’t fall on his face and end up behind bars, or worse, before his term of office is up.
"I'm not rooting against him," Fetterman said sensibly; after all, if the president fails, the nation suffers, so what American should be wishing for that? "If you're rooting against the president,” Fetterman continued, “you are rooting against the nation. And I'm not ever going to be where I want a president to fail. So, country first. I know that's become maybe like a cliche, but it happens to be true."
Leftists were predictably enraged. Over at Bluesky, where the hard-left can let its freak flag fly without having to put up with the benighted, hateful, and evil ones who dare to dissent from their crystal-clear vision of what constitutes truth and righteousness, our moral superiors were giving full vent to their tolerance and broad-mindedness. “Fetterman,” said one, “is a giant moron.” Another waxed eloquent: “F**king Fetterman can f**k off. There. I said it. I love being able to use the F word here. And f**king Fetterman deserves it. F**king traitor.”
One of Fetterman’s supporters felt betrayed, saying: “Can someone tell me what in the chicken fried F**K happened to John Fetterman? I spent an entire day making calls for that dude. Twice!” Democrat strategist Adam Parkhomenko struck a tone more of sorrow than of anger, saying: “I really wish John Fetterman would remember the people who stood by him, prayed for him, and cheered him on.” Another Bluesky prophesied: “He’ll be on Fox next.”
Maybe he will. On ABC’s “This Week” Sunday, he departed decisively from the left’s line, saying that he “never believed Trump's movement was about fascism.” He added that “it was Vice President Kamala Harris' ‘prerogative’ to call Trump a fascist during her campaign,” but said: "Fascism, that's not a word that regular people use, you know? I think people are going to decide who is the candidate that's going to protect and project, you know, my version of the American way of life, and that's what happened."
No, no, Fetterman! You need to schedule a deprogramming session with Chuck Schumer, pronto! What happened was not that Americans voted for Trump because he convinced them that he was going to protect their vision of the American way of life! What happened was that tens of millions of Americans decided to prove that they were racist and sexist and unworthy of being governed by a glorious woman of color! That’s the left’s line, and as absurd as it is, they’re sticking to it.
Related: Harris Aide Says Dems Need More Spox Like the Activist Who Said ‘America Deserved 9/11’
It gets even worse for the left: Fetterman hasn’t just been talking common sense. He has been acting upon his convictions, even meeting with Trump's Cabinet nominees. Now, this is simply not how things are supposed to work. Democrat senators are supposed to oppose all of Trump’s nominees tooth and nail, and even accuse them of all manner of crimes, no matter how preposterous (remember Brett Kavanaugh’s high school mass rape ring?), so as to impede the confirmation of as many of them as possible.
Instead, Fetterman said: "I believe that it’s appropriate and the responsibility of a U.S. senator to have a conversation with President-elect Trump's nominees. That’s why I met with Elise Stefanik and Pete Hegseth, just wrapped with Tulsi Gabbard, and look forward to my meetings with others soon. My votes will come from an open mind and an informed opinion after having a conversation with them. That’s not controversial, it's my job." Don’t kid yourself, senator. These days, doing such a thing is wildly controversial.
So what has gotten into John Fetterman? Our friend Matt Margolis thinks it’s all about courting Republican support so as to get re-elected to the Senate in 2028, and that may be it. Being more naïve, I dare to suspect that maybe he’s just a good-hearted American guy who wants to do the right thing. We shall see.
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