‘I’m Not Dumb’: John Fetterman Says He’s ‘Not Afraid’ Of His Own Daughter Getting ‘Mowed Down’ By Biological Male

Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman said Thursday he’s “not afraid” if his own daughter gets “mowed down” by a biological male.

In his joint address to Congress on Tuesday, President Donald Trump discussed his executive order banning biological men from participating in women’s sports and had Payton McNabb as a guest, a 19-year-old who sustained a traumatic brain injury when a male who identifies as a female aggressively spiked a volleyball at her. In an appearance on “The Bulwark Podcast with Tim Miller,” Fetterman discussed transgender athletes in women’s sports.

“I’m not dumb either. I know the polling, and now a lot of people are saying it’s absurd. And now, for me, that’s when I felt like it’s a time to really say I’m not gonna bully or I’m not gonna degrade those,” Fetterman said. “And now, you know, we’re at 13 million people in our state. And it’s a small, small number of people that are involved on that. And I have a 13-year-old daughter, and she plays basketball. And I’m not afraid that she’s gonna get mowed down.”

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Fetterman said that the contentious issue of transgender athletes participating in sports should be handled locally, despite its significant implications and impact on the entire country.

“It turns into an issue that is more appropriate to be handled on a very hyper-local level and not dropping them into a meat grinder and weaponizing that. And I know I’m not dumb,” Fetterman said. “I know that there’ll be commercials saying, ‘Fetterman’s for they/them’ and blah, blah, blah. And I’m like, ‘Hey, you know, like bring it on.’ I’m not afraid to stand for my side on that.”