What the political attacks on Fetterman reveal

By Guy Ciarrocchi
Real Clear Wire

Few politicians evoke strong emotions like U.S. Sen. John Fetterman. Certainly, no Pennsylvania politician elicits more conversation. And no other major Democratic officeholder in America induces more rage among progressives.  

Since January 2025, Fetterman has been on the Left’s watchlist. He dared to meet with President-elect Trump and had the temerity to also meet with Trump cabinet nominees.  He voted for almost half of them.

Since early 2025, there have been whispers about Democrats challenging him in 2028, when he faces re-election. Now, those whispers are public shouts of rage. And countless potential challengers are tweeting, posting, and available for round-the-clock media hits.

The reality is that the focus on Fetterman – his votes, his tweets, and his interviews – misses the bigger and more meaningful story. This story involves the reaction to him among progressive activists and commentators, alongside Democratic politicians.

Recall the media saturation in the spring and summer of 2025, when Fetterman was “suddenly” mentally incapable of doing his job. Reporters and pundits suggested that he needed to resign or be removed. Such calls came from the same people who fiercely and angrily defended Fetterman’s mental and physicals capabilities, post stroke, during the 2022 Senate campaign.

Today, there are now open calls from the Left for candidates to take on Fetterman in two years. There are also organized efforts to request that 2022 campaign donors get their money back.

A reality check is in order.

As we watch this current media and political response to Fetterman, the most recent Pennsylvania poll shows just over 20% of Democrats approve of him. Keep in mind that besides their noise, the attacks, and the social media onslaught, there are a few important and notable facts.

Consider his Democratic resume. He has a 100% rating from Planned Parenthood; opposes bans on men playing in women’s sports; holds a 100% rating from the AFL-CIO; supported the Covid and vaccine mandates; has been ranked the second most “Left” of the Senate’s freshmen members; has a 7% rating from the conservative Heritage Foundation; and is the most vocal supporter of legalized recreational marijuana in Pennsylvania.

In short, Fetterman is what honest observers would call a liberal, left-of-center – even progressive – politician. He’s certainly easily identifiable as a Democrat, including his positions on several of those cultural divides.

Nonetheless, the attacks on Fetterman come from extremists and progressives who often call the shots in the Democratic Party. They expect cult-like, 100% loyalty to anything and everything they demand. So they are set on ruining his reputation, his standing among Democrats, and chasing him out of their party – and then the U.S. Senate.

These facts and that reality is why many conservative commentators are quick to passionately –even angrily – point out that he’s no Republican.

When he’s wrong on policy issues, conservatives should point it out. However, to bring about civility and to build bipartisan, majority coalitions for legislative and policy goals, conservatives should welcome supporters on individual issues like immigration, homeland security, or education.

Lest we forget: here’s why progressives are angry with Fetterman. He supports Israel’s right to defend itself from terrorists following the barbarous attack on October 7th, 2023. Moreover, he opposes dangerous anti-Semitic rhetoric aimed at Jewish Americans or Israel. In addition, he supports the U.S.-Israeli led war-effort to get rid of Iran’s terrorist leadership and disable their weapons – hopefully leading to a stable regime. He also supports securing our nation’s border – viewing the Biden-era open borders as crushing our social services safety-net, undercutting American workers, and unnecessarily endangering innocent Americans. He compared the Biden administration’s open borders to allowing the equivalent of Pittsburgh’s population into the country each month. He defends most measures to stop fentanyl from being smuggled into our nation – including the bombing of the Venezuelan drug boats. He speaks out when “mostly peaceful protests” devolve into burning cars, blocking intersections, and throwing bricks at cops. And he has a constructive, cordial relationship with his GOP counterpart, U.S. Dave McCormick, and doesn’t take reflexive cheap shots at President Trump. Fetterman and President Trump even shook his hand at the State of the Union.

The reality is that Senator Fetterman is a mostly loyal, liberal Democratic Senator from a swing state, who also retains commonsense on several things that many folks at your local Wawa or Sheetz would agree with.

Nevertheless, his positions are likely to result in a primary challenge in 2028. This says less about Fetterman and more about the state of today’s Democratic Party.

Guy Ciarrocchi writes for RealClear Pennsylvania and Broad+Liberty. He is a Senior Fellow with the Commonwealth Foundation. Follow Guy at @PaSuburbsGuy.