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Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman reportedly reduced a staffer to tears amid outbursts of “why does everyone hate me?” during a meeting with a teacher’s union.
Fetterman soon began repeating himself as he shouted, questioning why “everybody is mad at me” and “why does everyone hate me, what did I ever do,” as he slammed his hands on his desk, one person briefed on the event said.
A staffer eventually ended the meeting and moved the visitors into the hallway, where she began crying. She was comforted by the teachers, who were also unnerved by Fetterman’s actions, a second individual told about the meeting said.
The meeting took place at Fetterman’s office in Washington and was described by two anonymous sources to The Associated Press. The events took place the day before the release of a New York Magazine article in which former staff and advisers shared apprehensions about Fetterman’s mental health.
The Associated Press also reported on a 2024 letter sent by Fetterman’s previous Chief of Staff, Adam Jentleson, who told a neuropsychiatrist who had overseen the senator’s depression treatment that the senator showcased concerning behavior, suggesting that he was not taking his medications.
Jentleson said Fetterman tended towards “long, rambling, repetitive and self-centered monologues.”
Fetterman said in a statement to The Independent that he “had a spirited conversation” with the teachers’ union “about our collective frustration with the Trump administration’s cuts to our education system.”
He added that he "will always support our teachers, and I will always reject anyone’s attempt to turn Pennsylvania’s public schools into a voucher program.”
Earlier this week, Fetterman was asked to respond to the story in New York Magazine, saying that it was a “one-source hit piece and some anonymous sources, so there’s nothing new.”
A reporter asked him what he would say to those concerned about him.
“They’re not. They’re actually not concerned. It’s a hit piece. There’s no news,” said the senator.
The meeting with the teachers’ union is yet another addition to the questions surrounding Fetterman’s behavior and mental health following the stroke he suffered during his 2022 Senate campaign. About a month after he was sworn in, he spent six weeks at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center being treated for depression.
The senator is also facing criticism from Pennsylvania Democrats who are outraged at his willingness to work with President Donald Trump.
Fetterman has been diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, which leads to the weakening and enlargement of the heart muscle, as well as auditory processing problems following the stroke. He has been outspoken about his struggle with his mental health, and he has urged others to get the help they need.
He said on the Joe Rogan podcast in November that he had fought off thoughts of self-harm.
“I was at the point where I was really, you know, in a very dark place. And I stayed in that game and I am staying in front of you right now and having this conversation,” said Fetterman.
But some of those who have worked alongside the senator remain concerned that his recovery isn’t finished.
Jentleson wrote in his letter last year that Fetterman wasn’t seeing his doctors, that he had pushed away people who had helped him stick to his recovery plan, and that he may not be taking his medications.
He added that Fetterman had been driving recklessly and was showing signs of paranoia.
“Overall, over the last nine months or so, John has dismantled the early-warning system we all agreed upon when he was released,” said Jentleson. “He has picked fights with each person involved in that system and used those fights as excuses to push them out and cut them off from any knowledge about his health situation.”
Jentleson told New York Magazine that he was taking his concerns public out of fear for Fetterman’s health and for his staff. On Tuesday, Fetterman told CNN that Jentleson has a “weird grudge.”
“If you’re really concerned about someone, you could say, ‘Hey, let’s sit down. Can we talk?’ It’s not … like going to the media,” he told the network.
“I stand by what I said, and I hope he gets the help he needs,” Jentleson told CNN.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
English (US) ·