Senator John Fetterman wasn’t in Washington for the first Trump administration. But he has a few ideas about how Democrats should handle the second.
He wants his party to accept its losses. He wants his party to chill out a little. And he wants his party to please stop with all the hot takes about what went wrong in November, since Democrats have four long years to figure it out.
Fetterman has some experience taking on President-elect Donald Trump’s G.O.P. He won his seat in 2022 after overcoming a near-fatal stroke and beating the Trump-endorsed Dr. Mehmet Oz, who has since become the president-elect’s pick to run Medicare. As the Democratic Party reckons with its losses in places like Pennsylvania — where Trump beat Vice President Kamala Harris by 1.7 percentage points and Bob Casey, a third-term Democratic senator, lost his seat — I called Fetterman.
Our conversation was the first in a series of interviews I’ll do in this newsletter about the path forward for the Democratic Party. Drop me a line and tell me about others you want to hear from.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
Incumbent parties struggled or lost elections around the world this year, particularly in Western democracies. Do you think the Democrats’ losses in November were inevitable?
That’s a question worth asking. I had a lot of concern — there was a couple of one-offs. One of them was the assassination in Pennsylvania. I think some people seem to forget that, or how incredibly dangerous that was for a nation, God forbid, if he would have been mortally wounded. But the kind of imagery and the kinds of energy that emerged from that, absolutely, I witnessed that on the ground in Pennsylvania. I thought, well, that might be ballgame.
Then, Musk was involved. He was described as moving to Pennsylvania. And sometimes that doesn’t really mean much, but he was an active surrogate — and I mean, his checkbook was helpful. That wasn’t really the defining facet for me. I was concerned that he’s going to have a lot of sway with a part of the demographic that the Democrats have to win, and we’ve struggled with.
You’re talking about the tech billionaire Elon Musk, but what’s the demographic in question?
Whether it’s the “bros,” that negative term that perhaps even your publication uses, as a negative — it’s the bros, or, you know, males, blue-collar guys, just people. It’s very rare, in my opinion, that surrogates have “fanboys.” Making fun of him or make light of it, you do that at your peril, because it is going to matter.
How do you think Democrats should be talking to bros, and should be talking to men, and should be talking to working-class voters?
Have a conversation. Have a conversation with anyone that’s willing to have an honest conversation. That’s always been the rule, and that’s what I’m going to continue. I’ve had conversations on Fox News, and they’ve played me straight. I’ve shown up on Newsmax, and they’ve played it straight. And Rogan. Rogan was great. He was cordial and open and warm.
Why was it important to you to go on Joe Rogan?
I’m a fan. I’m a huge fan of Bill Maher, a huge fan of Colbert.
Why do you think Democrats have struggled with men?
It’s already migrated. In 2016, I was doing an event with the steel workers, across the street where I live, and I was noticing different kind of energy with this, with Trump. It was clear at that time that people were voting for Trump. And the Democrats’ response was, “Aren’t they smart enough to realize they’re voting against their interests?” And that’s insulting, and that’s, I mean, that’s, that’s just not helpful. It’s condescending. And if anything, that reinforces that kind of stereotype.
Telling them that “I know better than you do,” that’s not helpful.
In 2022, you won your Senate race by almost five points. It wasn’t particularly close. Why do you think you did so much better in 2022 than Democrats in Pennsylvania did in statewide races in 2024?
A lot of different kinds of things converged in this cycle. So, in some sense, it’s not perfectly analogous to compare ’22 to ’24. Trump absolutely is a much more compelling top of the ticket than Dr. Oz, or, you know, the ultimate Democratic candidate dream of Doug Mastriano.
Is there something that you think you understand, though, about the recipe for success in Pennsylvania or the voters you need to talk to, that other Democrats don’t?
I don’t have “You should, you should, you should.” This is “I do, I do, I do.”
The opinions and the hot takes from the safety of, like, a deep blue seat or state, that doesn’t really count for much.
The things that they say, and those kinds of positions, are filling the clips that the Republicans unload on us in states like Pennsylvania.
How do you think the Democratic Party needs to change right now?
I don’t give advice except on fashion. Again, I want to thank your publication for putting me on the best-dressed list, so you understand why I am a fashion plate.
Do Democrats need to do an analysis of what went wrong? And, if so, who should do it?
We’re not even at Thanksgiving, and Democrats just can’t stop losing our minds every fifteen minutes. We really need to pace ourselves, or, you know, for FFS, just grab a grip. Realize that this is how elections go. At least for the next two years, they’re going to have the opportunity to write the narrative and to drive the narrative.
Trump is assembling a cabinet of people many Democrats find deeply objectionable. How do you think Democrats should respond?
I’m just saying, buckle up and pack a lunch, because it’s going to be four years of this. And if you have a choice to freak out, you know, on the hour, then that’s your right. But I will not. I’m not that dude, and I’m not that Democrat. I’m going to pick my fights. If you freak out on everything, you lose any kind of relevance.
Do you think Democrats have done too much freaking out when it comes to Trump?
It’s symbiotic. One feeds off the other. The Democrats can’t resist a freakout, and that must be the wind under the wings for Trump.
I saw a quote from you where you referred to, the Matt Gaetz pick, as “God-tier-level trolling.”
Obviously! The response or the opinions on the Democratic side aren’t interesting. They’re not. They’re not surprising. The real interesting ones are going to come from my colleagues on the Republican side.
It sounds like you want Democrats to be quiet and let Republicans have their own fight.
All I’m saying is, the freakout and all the anxiety and all that should have been before Nov. 5.
Does clutching the pearls so hard — does that change anything? Did it work? Did it change the election? Was it productive? And, like, I can’t believe the outrage. That has to be candy for Trump.
You said Democrats needed to pick their battles. What’s one you’d choose?
I’m not going to pick one before Thanksgiving.
One analysis of the election that we’ve heard from your colleague Senator Bernie Sanders is that Democrats failed to recognize how bad people were feeling about the economy, about the country generally, and failed to name a villain. Do you agree with that analysis?
I do not.
Why?
I think there was a lot of other issues. I would even describe them as cultural. Walk around in Scranton, tell me what an oligarch is. I think it’s like, “Whose argument is the closest match to the kinds of things that are important to me?” And I think some of them are rooted in gender and worldviews, and even backlash of things like cancel culture.
I witness people, now there’s specific kinds of clothing. They call it Blue Collar Patriots. I’m willing to bet you know who they’re voting for.
And why is that? I don’t think it’s because we haven’t talked enough about oligarchs, and how it’s rigged.
What do you think Democrats need to do to bring about the kind of cultural shift you’re talking about?
For a party that’s had way too many bad takes, we should take our time.
The luxe life of a pardoned turkey
One minute, you’re staying at a lush hotel in Washington and strutting on the White House lawn. And then, before you know it, you’re in the back of an S.U.V. for an 18-hour drive, dreaming about your custom retirement cottage.
Such is the life of a pardoned turkey.
This week, President Biden pardoned Peach and Blossom, making them briefly the most famous birds in America as he marked a holiday ritual in the waning days of his presidency.
It’s not yet clear what Biden will do next, but Peach and Blossom headed straight to Farmamerica, an agricultural educational center in Waseca, Minn., where they will live out their retirement in a specially built coop.
They’ll have 24-hour access to fresh water and feed. And a livestock nutritionist has been consulted about “a well-balanced diet for the turkeys, so they can maintain a healthy weight,” said Jessica Rollins, the center’s executive director.
The turkeys will greet their public on Friday, when the farm will host a turkey trot. Peach and Blossom themselves will not be trotting in the freezing weather. They’ll be nice and warm inside the visitor center.
“I have anxiety because we have nice carpet down,” she said, “but we have plastic that we will put over that.”
Happy Thanksgiving, all! I’ll be off until Monday, eating a turkey that was not spared. In the spirit of the holiday, thank you, dear reader, for making time for this newsletter in your own busy schedule. See you next week!
The post John Fetterman Wants Democrats to Stop Freaking Out appeared first on New York Times.
