John Fetterman’s opening committee hearing statement raises concern

Sen. John Fetterman’s first time leading a hearing in the Senate on Wednesday was met with concern among social media users, with many saying that the Pennsylvania Democrat’s obvious trouble reading his opening statement signals that he is unfit to serve.

Fetterman, who suffered a stroke on the campaign trail and was hospitalized for five weeks for depression treatment last month, led the Senate Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics and Research hearing on Wednesday, stammering and stumbling through his two-minute long opening remarks. 

“Good lord. This dude is not remotely well or able to do this job. Embarrassing for Pennsylvania,” Outkick founder Clay Travis wrote in a tweet.

Podcast host Jewels Jones called a clip of Fetterman’s remarks “frightening,” and Harrison Fields, communications director for Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), tweeted a GIF, joking that it is how ailing Democratic California Sen. Dianne Feinstein would react to Fetterman’s remarks.

“It’s clear why Fetterman was admitted to Walter Reed. This is him ‘recovered,’” former Trump White House aide Sebastian Gorka said on Twitter.  

Comedian Tim Young tweeted, “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,” Young said, adding “There’s no way that John Fetterman even knows what he’s saying here.” 

Jenna Ellis, a one-time attorney for former President Donald Trump, said the opening statement made it clear that “Fetterman is not okay.” 

One of Fetterman’s colleagues, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), came to the freshman lawmaker’s defense on Wednesday, telling critics to “lay off.”

“I say: Lay off Fetterman’s health and talk about policy…There’s lots of material that doesn’t attack someone’s misfortune,” Paul wrote in a tweet.

Joe Calvello, spokesperson for Fetterman, told Fox News Digital that 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,” Calvello said. “As a senator, John is fighting for forgotten communities and all of the people of Pennsylvania, regardless of their social media habits.”