Social media users expressed worry when Sen. John Fetterman presided over a Senate committee for the first time on Wednesday, with many claiming that the Pennsylvania Democrat’s apparent difficulty reading his opening statement indicates that he is unqualified to serve.
In addition to being hospitalized for five weeks last month for depression treatment after suffering a stroke on the campaign trail, Fetterman presided over the Senate Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics, and Research hearing on Wednesday while stumbling and stammering through his two-minute opening remarks.
.@SenFeinstein right now. https://t.co/sMShJp0JvP pic.twitter.com/abJpV8D40j
— Harrison Fields (@HarrisonWFields) April 19, 2023
“Good lord. This dude is not remotely well or able to do this job. Embarrassing for Pennsylvania,” stated Clay Travis, the creator of Outkick, in a tweet.
Jewels Jones, the host of a podcast, referred to a clip of Fetterman’s comments as “frightening.”
“It’s clear why Fetterman was admitted to Walter Reed. This is him ‘recovered,’” Sebastian Gorka, a former member of Trump’s White House staff, tweeted.
Comedian Tim Young posted, “Nothing says John Fetterman isn’t fit to serve quite like him attempting to chair a committee hearing today. This is pathetic and Democrats should be ashamed of themselves for continuing to wheel him out. There’s no way that John Fetterman even knows what he’s saying here.”
According to Joe Calvello, Fetterman’s publicist, it’s “a sad but true fact of life that some people seem to get their jollies attacking John for the auditory processing issues resulting from his stroke but they’re just shouting into the wind.”
“Republicans already tried emptying the arsenal attacking John’s health and Pennsylvanians had his back in a big way. As a senator, John is fighting for forgotten communities and all of the people of Pennsylvania, regardless of their social media habits.”