As Some Democrats Bail on Biden, Fetterman Digs In

Senator defends president, mocks peers he sees as weak-kneed
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 8, 2024 11:31 AM CDT
As Some Democrats Bail on Biden, Fetterman Digs In
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., speaks as President Biden, left, listens at a campaign rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.   (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The number of congressional Democrats calling for President Biden to step aside, either in public or in private, is growing. One person most definitely not in that camp is Sen. John Fetterman, who campaigned with the president across his home state of Pennsylvania on Sunday.

  • No chucking: "He's going to be our guy. That's our guy," Fetterman told CNN on Monday, per USA Today. "Joe Biden has been a great president ... and I'm not going to chuck him for a rough debate."
  • Rave review: Fetterman said he spent pretty much all day Sunday with the president and that Biden "was perfect," per CNN. "At every single stop that we had, people were thrilled, I mean, people were thirsty to have their picture taken with the president. And he was crisp, and he was engaged ... he was crushing it."

  • Relating: Fetterman also appeared on MSNBC after the president's interview with ABC aired on Friday and chided fellow Democrats who want to "panic and p--- our pants," per NJ.com. He amplified the salty message in a tweet in which he implored Democrats to "chill the f--- out." Fetterman said pollsters were wrong about his chances after a shaky 2022 debate performance following his stroke. "No one knows more than me that a rough debate is not the sum total of the person and their record."
  • Media blast: The senator also took the media—particularly the New York Times—to task for what he sees as unbalanced scrutiny of Biden when compared to the "twice-impeached" Donald Trump. The media "obsesses on smearing a good President and decent man," he tweeted. "If anyone lost their way, it's The New York Times."
(More John Fetterman stories.)

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