Sen. John Fetterman’s staff is pitching his sudden return to his signature hoodies and shorts as a sign the Pennsylvania Democrat is “making a robust recovery” from the clinical depression that recently left him hospitalized for six weeks. Right.
Of course, during last year’s campaign Fetterman’s staff concealed the extent of his disability after his stroke, and more recently kept insisting he’d be out of the hospital “soon” — weeks before his actual discharge.
Staffers also arranged for him to “decide” to cosponsor legislation while at Walter Reed, a move some might see as making it look like he was engaged when he wasn’t.
And, since he still has trouble getting out coherent sentences, his office has been doctoring transcripts to make him seem articulate in statements it provides to the press.
It seems most likely that Fetterman simply decided he was going to stop wearing the darn suits, which is as much a sign he just can’t bear it anymore as a show of spirit.
As it is, it leaves him voting from a doorway to the Senate chamber or a committee room, and unable to properly sit through committee meetings.
This, when his hearing issues, speech issues and other woes already undermine his ability to do his job.
And now he looks (as well as sounds) beyond bizarre at press conferences.
Fetterman’s condition may not be as dire as California Dem Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s, but there’s no way for the public to know the truth: Their handlers won’t let outsiders get close enough to either to say for sure.
The Senate’s supposed to be “the world’s greatest deliberative body,” not the world’s greatest nursing home.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
