There is one thing that unites the right and the left: Having a death wish for Senator John Fetterman.
That’s according to the man himself, who told the New York Times in a story published Thursday that “I’ve learned over the last few years … that the right, and now the left, wish me dead.
“Some are rooting for another blood clot,” added the Pennsylvania Democrat, referring to his near-fatal stroke from last year. “They both now wish me dead.”
Once the darling of the far left, Fetterman, 54, has infuriated many activists with his staunch support for Israel following the October 7 attacks by Hamas, and now insists that he is “not a progressive.”
John Fetterman survived a near death after a stroke. Getty Images
In response, disgruntled leftists have referred to him with the hashtag X “#GenocideJohn” and some have even vilified him personally.
The burly Pennsylvanian, known for walking around the Senate in shorts and an oversized hoodie, bemoaned what he described as a “purity test” set by his former running mate.
“It’s just a place where I’m not,” he told the Times. “I don’t feel like I’ve left [progressive] labels; moreover it left me.”
The Pennsylvania Democrat was once seen as a progressive aligned with Bernie Sanders. Getty Images
“I’m not critical if someone is progressive … I just believe in different things.”
In 2016, Fetterman supported the bid of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for president and claims to be “a Democrat and a progressive.”
He later endorsed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after Sanders dropped out of the race.
“This weird sanctity thing, where people are offended that I’m hugging Secretary Clinton when we have Trump on the other side?” Fetterman stared. “How did it work out for you?”
As mayor of Braddock, Pa. and later as lieutenant governor of the Keystone State, the Democrat gained a reputation for endorsing many of the left’s wish list items.
Fetterman insisted that he still wants federal marijuana legalization, a $15 national minimum wage, and universal health care.
Democrats find themselves deeply divided over the response to the conflict in Israel. MICHAEL REYNOLDS/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
But his support for Israel and his recent admission that he doesn’t believe “it’s unreasonable to have a secure border” have rubbed some on his side of the aisle the wrong way.
“Whenever I’m in a situation where I need to be called upon to strengthen and enhance Israel’s security or strengthen our relationship between the United States and Israel, I will lean in,” Fetterman told Jewish Insider in April of last year.
“I will also respectfully say that I am not really progressive in that sense.”
On Thursday, he expressed confusion to the Times that “the progressive left in America doesn’t seem to want to support the only progressive country in [Middle East] that really embodies the same kind of values that I hope we want as a society.”
“I’m not really sure,” he added, “what part of any of this will be a surprise if anyone is paying attention.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
