Senator John Fetterman went on CNN this week and said something no Democrat was supposed to say. Hillary Clinton, he told Jake Tapper, belongs behind bars.
The moment came during an interview on “The Lead.” Tapper had asked Fetterman about Republican efforts to revisit old investigations into Clinton, expecting what most Democrats usually say, that it’s all a political distraction. Instead, Fetterman laid it out.
“If it’s not Benghazi, it’s Uranium One,” he said. “If it’s not those, it’s the emails on her bathroom server.” Tapper tried to cut in, saying that those matters had been looked into many times. Fetterman wasn’t having it. “Cut the crap, Jake,” he said. “We all know what happened.”
For a few seconds, Tapper didn’t seem to know what to say. Then he moved on to another topic. But the damage was done. Within an hour, the clip was everywhere.
Conservatives called it a turning point. Several Republican lawmakers posted the video with captions praising Fetterman’s honesty. One wrote, “Even the Democrats know.”
Democrats were far less amused. A senior member of the party’s Senate leadership said Fetterman’s remarks were “beneath the office” and accused him of repeating talking points that had been debunked years ago. A spokesperson for Clinton said the senator was “doing the work of people who want to tear this country apart.”
Fetterman has spent much of his time in the Senate surprising people. He arrived in Washington as a progressive favorite, known for his hoodies and his blunt way of talking. Since then, he has broken with his party on border security, Israel, and energy, often to the frustration of the left. People who work with him say the Clinton comments weren’t a slip of the tongue.
“He’s been saying this kind of thing in private for a while,” one aide said. “He just decided he was done keeping it to himself.” Some in Pennsylvania appreciate that. At a diner outside Harrisburg, a few regulars said they were glad to hear a Democrat say what they had been thinking for years.
“Nobody ever answers for anything in Washington,” one man said. “At least he’s asking the question.” Others were disappointed. A local Democratic organizer said she had knocked on doors for Fetterman in 2022 and now felt “like I don’t even know who he is anymore.”
Fetterman doesn’t seem worried. Asked by a reporter later that day whether he regretted the comments, he shook his head and kept walking.
It’s another sign of how much has changed inside the Democratic Party. Even Dems are getting tired of covering for the Clintons.
