Just a week ago, the New York Times decided that they’d had enough of willingly and repeatedly covering for John Fetterman and reported that the junior Democratic U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania appears to have suffered long-term problems since having a massive stroke last May.
Here comes the truth about John Fetterman, in today's New York Times – months too late:
"When it’s bad, Mr. Fetterman has described it as trying to make out the muffled voice of the teacher in the 'Peanuts' cartoon, whose words could never be deciphered."https://t.co/UEjGpnuM59
— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) February 10, 2023
Hey, better late than never, right?
Well, now that Fetterman has checked into inpatient treatment for depression, treatment that is reportedly set to last for at least a few weeks, the New York Times is being a little more open and honest about the whole situation:
NYT reports Sen Fetterman and those around him 'fear he may suffer long-term and potentially permanent repercussions' because he continued strenuous campaign rather than full-time recovery after 'life-threatening' stroke. 1/2 https://t.co/K9b8HiN891
— Byron York (@ByronYork) February 17, 2023
Now, the possibility that he may have missed out on a crucial recovery period has become a source of pain and frustration for Mr. Fetterman and people close to him, who fear that he may suffer long-term and potentially permanent repercussions. His schedule as a freshman senator has meant that he has continued to push himself in ways that people close to him worry are detrimental.
Dr. Eric Lenze, the head of the psychiatry department at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, described post-stroke depression as “very common, often very serious and, maybe most importantly, actually really treatable.” He said depression affects one in three people recovering from a stroke but added that controlled clinical trials have found that “it’s a very treatable condition, not just on the symptoms of depression but on one’s functioning.”
…
During the Senate race last year in Pennsylvania, his Republican opponent, Dr. Mehmet Oz, seized on the issue of Mr. Fetterman’s health in an attempt to revive his struggling candidacy. He was not the only one; Republicans and conservative talk show hosts relentlessly attacked Mr. Fetterman and questioned whether he was fit to serve.
At the time, Mr. Fetterman said he was recovering quickly and living a normal life. His campaign aides insisted he was healthier than a vast majority of the aging Senate.
“I’m running a perfectly normal campaign,” Mr. Fetterman said in an interview with The New York Times in September. At another point he added, “I keep getting better and better, and I’m living a perfectly normal life.”
Well, that last bit was clearly a lie, wasn’t it?
It’s important to emphasize that we’re not looking to shame Sen. Fetterman for struggles with his mental health. Millions of Americans understand that struggle firsthand and need to know that there’s no shame in realizing you need help and asking for it. No, the issue that we take — and that all intellectually honest people should take — is with his campaign’s refusal to acknowledge that all wasn’t well and their insistence on pushing him far harder than he was physically or cognitively or mentally capable of pushing himself, and the mainstream media’s own role in perpetuating the lie that Fetterman was healthy and capable of running for office and serving in office at full physical and cognitive and mental capacity. Recall that NBC News’ Dasha Burns was vilified by other so-called “journalists” for raising concerns about Fetterman’s fitness on the campaign trail.
Of course, some noted such dangers at the time. Fetterman partisans dismissed them. But it was irresponsible to push forward with campaign, especially while at same time not being transparent with voters of Pennsylvania. 2/2 https://t.co/K9b8HiN891
— Byron York (@ByronYork) February 17, 2023
Only now that John Fetterman is safely ensconced in the U.S. Senate is it OK for his campaign and the media to speak openly about his serious health struggles. And if either his campaign or the media expect us to just forgive them for lying to us for months, they’d better not hold their breath.
Ben Shapiro explains why:
With Senator John Fetterman entering the hospital again for depression, it's absolutely clear how cruel and disgusting it was for his party, family, and the media to have placed him in this position. pic.twitter.com/8mEsAXZaD2
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) February 17, 2023
First we were told that he was fine while he was hidden from the voters. Then we were told that it was ableist to point out that he wasn't well. Then we were told he would recover just fine. Now we're told to mind our own business.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) February 17, 2023
This is all garbage. He had a traumatic brain injury before the primaries. And it damages him to continue in this vein. Here is the NYT: pic.twitter.com/5n3DP7pevu
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) February 17, 2023
There is no excuse other than pure power for Fetterman to remain a senator. A Democrat will replace him; the governor of PA is a Democrat. It is unconscionable for anyone, particularly family, to continue to put him in this position.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) February 17, 2023
John Fetterman himself is not blameless in all this, of course. He went along with it when he knew he shouldn’t, and he denied that the problems that clearly existed existed. But what his family and his campaign and the media have done to bring Fetterman, Pennsylvania, and all of us to this point is unforgivable.
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Related:
NYT stealth-edits article about John Fetterman after journo-Karen gets offended over accurate term
Rolling Stone reminds us Sen. Fetterman went to a hospital just like ‘countless other politicians’
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