On Wednesday, an MSNBC panel discussed the possibility of Pennsylvania Senator-elect John Fetterman running for the Democratic presidential candidacy in two years. According to Katy Tur, Fetterman, who survived a May stroke that left him with an unsettling inability to absorb or respond to inquiries to beat Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz, may be exactly what the party needs.
“Fetterman as a candidate at some time for president, clearly, there are some variables,” Tur remarked, as other panelists, including Jen Psaki, Michael Steele, and Andrea Mitchell, chuckled. “But, you know, what he did throughout the super-red, deep-red sections of Pennsylvania, and the way he performed ahead of Biden, and, as you said, ahead of Trump, this just makes one wonder about his future.”
Despite a startling performance in their one debate, Fetterman, the 6-foot-8-inch lieutenant gov. and previous mayor of tiny Braddock, Pennsylvania, barely edged out a slim victory over Oz. Fetterman started the Oct. 26 episode by saying, “Goodnight, everyone,” and then began to provide a series of perplexing replies that elicited both pity and scorn.
He was confronted with his previous contradictory views on fracking at one point.
“I favor fracking — no, no, no — I support fracking, and I stand — and I support fracking,” he mumbled.
As Fetterman continues to depend on a closed captioning system to field and respond to inquiries, his campaign speeches have included nonsensical soundbites.
“I think everyone who ever played high school football was, you know, at a out kind of football camp and there was not any interest in my coming play here,” he said at a rally just before Election Day.
But Fetterman, who ran as a blue-collar everyman in baggy shorts and a sweatshirt, had been an inspiration to so many liberals, including Tur, for his fight to conquer the stroke, which happened only days before he won the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania.
Tur did not say when the 53-year-old Fetterman, who advocates for the release of up to one-third of Pennsylvania’s convicts, may run for president. Despite having support ratings around 40% and approaching his 80th birthday, President Joe Biden has stated his intention to seek for re-election. However, there have been rumors that the party is looking for a replacement candidate, maybe to stage a primary challenge.
