In a candid discussion with entrepreneur, businessman, and angel investor David Friedberg on the All-In Podcast, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) provided a frank critique of the leadership within his own party, or rather, the absence of it. Fetterman isnât one to shy away from supporting policies that go against the grain of his party and its leaders. Notably, he stands by Israel, voted in favor of the Laken Riley Act, backs Operation Epic Fury, and even goes so far as to assert that he doesnât see President Donald Trump as Hitler.
Fetterman has shown a willingness to challenge the status quo within his party. During the interview, when Friedberg posed a straightforward question, Fettermanâs response was refreshingly on point.
âWho do you think leads the Democratic Party today?â Friedman
Asked, and Fetterman did not hesitate an iota.
âOh, we donât, we donât have one,â he said, before adding, âI think the TDS, [Trump Derangement Syndrome] that â I think thatâs the leader right now.â
Itâs the same response I would have given. Itâs not Chuck
Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, Kamala Harris, or Gavin Newsom. The driving force behind the party is simply their disdain for Trump; thatâs all there is to it.
However, Fetterman was just getting started. He depicted a
Party that is less motivated by principles and more swayed by instinctive opposition. âYou know, right now our, our party is, is governed by the TDS,â he continued, arguing that it has âmade it virtually impossible without being punished as a Democrat to agree somethingâs good or I agree with the other side.â
He went on to describe the current political climate in the
Starkest of terms. âI would define that by Epic Fury,â and positioning himself as an outlier within his own caucus. âI am literally the only Democrat⌠in Congress that Iâve come across thatâs saying, âI think itâs a great thing to break and destroy the Iranian regime. I think itâs entirely appropriate to hold them accountable.ââ
What really chaps his you-know-what is the disconnect between past Democratic positions and rhetoric versus current responses. âWhatâs strange to me [is] that every single Democrat thatâs run for president, uh, and anyone that I know in Congress says we must never allow [Iran] to acquire a nuclear bomb,â he noted. âWhen that happens, why not celebrate that or acknowledge that?â
Rather, Fetterman says the responses from nearly everyone else
In his party are to automatically oppose whatever Trump is for
âI have only witnessed just criticism and these kinds of these kinds of attack[s],â he said, adding that political tribalism is overriding common sense. âYeah, you donât have to agree on every single thing, but when a good thing happens, just because it comes from a, uh, the different party, um, that, that tells me that youâre choosing the demand of the, the base or the party over country or what, whatâs really a â I think appropriate in that circumstances.â
Although Fettermanâs evaluation of his own party isnât particularly surprising to me, it carries significant weight when a Democrat openly acknowledges what weâve been pointing out for years.
