Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) has voiced criticism of his party in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s historic comeback victory, particularly regarding former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and her involvement in the alleged plot to remove President Biden from office. In the weeks leading up to Election Day, Fetterman had warned of a significant surge in Trump’s popularity in Pennsylvania. The freshman senator noted that Trump shares a “special” connection with the state, particularly after a near-assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
“I think if you match up Trump with Harris, and I think that’s what this is really about, and I do believe he’s going to win Pennsylvania. And I do believe it’s going to be close, but whether it’s Biden, whether it was Clinton, or whether it was with Vice President Harris I think it’s going to be very close,” Fetterman told Newsmax back in August.
Fetterman has consistently maintained that President Biden — a Pennsylvania native with substantial working-class and union support throughout his political career — was a stronger candidate than Harris. He held this view even after Biden’s poor performance in the June debate, which triggered a secretive effort led by former President Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi to remove Biden from the ticket.
Pelosi, more than anyone else involved, has been open about her involvement in this plan, confirming her role on several occasions. But the former House speaker has recently began expressing frustration over the lack of an open process for selecting a nominee, a move both she and Obama were reportedly in favor of, according to staffers for President Biden and the Democratic National Committee who spoke to the New York Post. The two influential Democrats were reportedly prepared to endorse Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) before Biden unexpectedly backed Harris, a decision one staffer described as a “f**k you” to Obama and Pelosi.
In a recent interview with Politico, Fetterman criticized Pelosi for her involvement in the plot and reiterated his belief that Biden was a stronger candidate than Harris. “People like [Nancy] Pelosi, she really tried to — what’s the word I’m looking for? — she embraced this ‘she’s the godmother, she’s the enforcer.’ And now she’s blaming Biden,” he said. “Well, you can’t have it both ways. You got what you wanted, and now you’re still blaming Biden.”
He also ripped her decision to run again for yet another term at her age. “I think it’s really ironic that you have a woman at age 84 and she is still hanging on. Why not give a younger generation an opportunity to occupy that seat?” he added.
Fetterman also cited the attempt on Trump’s life as a key factor in his victory, along with Democratic efforts to shut down Elon Musk’s get-out-the-vote initiatives. In his view, these actions made the party appear “weak.”
“Immediately after that, when I was out, I saw people with custom shirts with that image,” he said, referring to the iconic photo of Trump raising his fist after being shot. “It’s like, ‘They tried everything. They impeached this man, they put him on trial. You know, the media. And now they tried to kill him, and he survived.’ And he had the presence of mind to even respond, and created that. What if that was [Barack] Obama? Can you imagine what that would have meant to Democrats?”
Disclaimer: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.