Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is viewed as a nonconformist and his response to Thursday night’s presidential debate with former President Donald Trump is no different.
His words were succinct and to the point when media outlets reported Democrats are panicking over President Joe Biden’s performance during the debate, per The Hill.
“Chill the f‑‑‑ out,” Fetterman said.
Fetterman went to X, formerly Twitter, to explain his take on the debate.
“I refuse to join the Democratic vultures on Biden’s shoulder after the debate. No one knows more than me that a rough debate is not the sum total of the person and their record,” Fetterman wrote.
Fetterman included a headline from Politico, which said, “Panicked Dems start looking for alternatives to Biden.”
Fetterman knows from personal experience about disastrous debates having survived one of his own in the 2022 election.
This response from Fetterman came after headlines read Democrats were panicking over Biden’s showing at Thursday’s debate.
“Morning-after thermonuclear beat downs from my race from the debate and polling geniuses like 538 predicted I’d lose by 2. And what happened? The only seat to flip and won by a historic margin (+5),” Fetterman posted.
“Chill the f‑‑‑ out,” he added.
Fetterman’s performance in a debate against Mehmet Oz in 2022. Fetterman struggled to put together coherent sentences at their debate after suffering a stroke.
The Washington Post’s analysis in October 2022 said Fetterman had “a rough night.”
The Post reported Fetterman started the debate by saying “Good night” instead of “Good evening.” He had trouble completing his thoughts and used the wrong words.
The polling average by the political handicapping site FiveThirtyEight showed Oz was pulling ahead of Fetterman after that debate.
Fetterman, however, ended up winning the Pennsylvania Senate race, earning 51.2% of the vote compared to Oz’s 46.3%.
Democrats were left wondering if the party should replace the president at the Democratic nominee.
Pennsylvania is one of three Democratic-leaning states in the Midwest that Biden needs to win to secure reelection, per The Hill.
The other two are Michigan and Wisconsin.
