Ed wrote about New York Magazine's hit piece against Sen. John Fetterman last Friday. Yesterday, Fetterman pushed back on it in comments to several reporters. He called it a "once source story, with a couple anonymous sources." He added that it was "a hit piece from a very left wing publication."

The Left eating their own.
John Fetterman did not follow their marching orders and it’s an all out assault. pic.twitter.com/coAeKdaqgq

— Big Fish (@BigFish3000) May 6, 2025

He also gave an interview yesterday to CNN in which he repeated some of the same statements. Fetterman blamed the hit piece on his former Chief of Staff Adam Jentleson.

There is already intense interest in primarying Fetterman, and questions over his fitness to serve could amplify that effort...

Fetterman denied he had other mental health issues beyond what he has publicly disclosed, calling it “outrageous” to suggest otherwise.

“My doctors have confirmed that that is not the case,” he said.

“I’ve been very front and center about my … depression, absolutely none of these other things, and it’s like so someone that was trying to accumulate my medical records and leak those things that’s part of this weird grudge for this hit piece,” he said...

In the New York Magazine piece, Jentleson said he was going public with his concerns out of fear for the senator’s health and staff around him...

“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 said.

I read the New York Magazine story and it does read like Adam Jentleson, having defended Fetterman when he was clearly not fit to run for office after his stroke, decided last year that he didn't want to be the guy defending Fetterman anymore. Maybe there's some genuine concern for Fetterman's wellbeing or maybe all the lying about Joe Biden's mental decline became a real world object lesson for Jentleson, i.e. lying about someone's mental health can end badly for everyone involved. 

But Fetterman is correct that none of this really needed to be a national news story, not for Fetterman's sake. What seems true is that Adam Jentleson wanted a clear break from his old boss and this story dumping out the Senator's dirty laundry, created that separation.

Is there a political motive as well? As I described yesterday, the Democrats are facing a terrible map in the 2026 Senate elections. They are only two seats they have any chance of winning and even if they win both it wouldn't allow them to regain control of the chamber. So how does dumping on Fetterman at this moment help?

Maybe if Fetterman resigned he could be replaced by a more left-leaning Senator but that would only be a hold not a gain for Democrats. What it might do is alleviate their discomfort at some of his opinions that are clearly not popular with the left. The topic of Fetterman's stance on Israel comes up repeatedly in the New York Magazine article.

While Israel had not been a prominent issue in his various campaigns, Fetterman had been talking about his support for the country for years. “I’m not really a progressive in that sense,” he said while campaigning in 2022. “There is no daylight between myself and these kinds of unwavering commitments to Israel’s security.” Still, it wasn’t until October 7 that it became clear Fetterman was the most outspoken Israel hawk in his party, offering constant and unconditional support for the military action in Gaza. Early on in the conflict, 16 of his former campaign staffers wrote a letter — anonymously — saying they found his full-throated support for Israel to be a “gutting betrayal.” Jentleson had taken to defending Fetterman on X from such criticisms, posting, “The thing about being a staffer is that no one elected you to represent them.”...

The war in Gaza was also luring Fetterman back to X. He had handed over his social-media passwords to his staff as part of his recovery plan, but when he saw in December that Pennsylvania protesters had stuck BOYCOTT ISRAELI GOODS stickers on hummus containers, he approved a post for staff to send. The message adhered to a classic meme format featuring two photos of Drake: one in which the rapper appeared disgusted by text that read PROTEST THE RAPE OF ISRAELI WOMEN + GIRLS and another in which he nodded approvingly to PROTEST HUMMUS.

The post roiled his staff. According to one former aide, a group of women who worked in the office argued that the message could be read as hurtful to sexual-assault survivors. Members of Fetterman’s senior team spent hours urging him to take the post down. The point he was trying to make — that protesters didn’t care about the atrocities committed by Hamas — was being lost in the controversy. According to one of them, Fetterman’s response was that he didn’t want to give in to the “woke mob” and that anyone upset was welcome to resign. Eventually he took it down...

Fetterman went on to make statements that shocked people. In opposing a cease-fire, he said, “Let’s get back to killing.” A person who heard the conversation told me, “He said, ‘Kill them all.’” In a statement, Fetterman denied the account, adding, “Any reference to killing was solely about Hamas, and I do support the destruction of that organization, down to its last member.”

His support for Israel is clearly a big part of his own staff's outrage and maybe one reason there is so much turnover in his office. Does that apply to Jentleson as well? I really don't know. Maybe there are mixed motivations here but Fetterman's stance on Israel is a big issue. Many on the right see it as the main issue driving a desire to see him pushed out of office.

The Fetterman NYMag hit piece is entirely because he supports Israel. No other reason.

Lot more brain damage and mental illness in this photo than anything I have ever seen from John pic.twitter.com/PSqM2uioxi

— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) May 2, 2025

Remember, John Fetterman was fine and good and only needed hearing aids and was brave and courageous, right up until he defended Israel's response to the largest mass murder of Jews since the holocaust. Now he's sick, unrecognizable, and needs to be in recovery at home.

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) May 2, 2025

They really do just make it all up as they go along. Fetterman was fine when he was demonstrably worse because there was an election to win, and now he’s a problem now that he’s slightly better because he likes Israel. https://t.co/eDmeTJsmrn

— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) May 3, 2025

The diagnosis is acute pro-Israel-itis, and the only cure is dropping out of public life. https://t.co/PUprWTFjQp

— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) May 2, 2025

Fetterman is still out there saying things like this, which obviously don't sit well with a lot of folks in his party.

Hamas’ leadership has the choice to free the hostages or face swift elimination.

The Palestinian tragedy was designed and maintained exclusively by Hamas.

This war is Hamas’ choice and my full support follows Israel. pic.twitter.com/2zgyHpM4Q4

— U.S. Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) March 24, 2025

Put another way, a party that wants to hype up a buff supporter of Hezbollah and the Houthis (as the left's answer to Joe Rogan) has no room for a guy like this.

We cannot negotiate with Iran.

It’s time to destroy their nuclear program and neutralize the remaining capabilities of its proxies.

I remain steadfast with Israel. Provide whatever is necessary to carry this out. pic.twitter.com/0oJ6MrjqwC

— U.S. Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) May 4, 2025