Sen. Fetterman's fitness for office and the media flip: Bias Breakdown

Welcome to Bias Breakdown. I'm your host, Kara Rucker

The mental fitness of Senator John Fetterman and the media narrative flip-flop

A former top aide of Fetterman's is expressing concern over the senator's well-being

Piling on are anonymous former and current aides to Fetterman, suggesting some of his sudden political ideology shifts as they describe it

could be because of mental health issues. What's interesting is these questions aren't coming from right-wing outlets anymore

They're coming from the left. And that's a 180 compared to Fetterman's early days in the national spotlight

when right-leaning media questioned Fetterman's cognitive fitness after a stroke and a stint at Walter Reed

Then it was left-leaning outlets at his defense. What does this media flip-flop tell us

And how does Fetterman's personal and political journey fit into it? That's the focus of today's Bias Breakdown

Join Straight Arrow News. See the slant. Avoid the bias. When others skew the facts, we give you the truth down the center

Welcome to Bias Breakdown. First, a glimpse into today's divide after Fetterman's former top aide is speaking out

With some outlets on the left questioning Fetterman's fitness to serve. I think anyone who knew him before and knows him now knows that he's a different man

This has been a really difficult situation. I think that anyone suffering depression in any instance, it's hard to keep up with school, keep up with a job

To be U.S. senator and suffer from depression, I can only imagine what him and his family are going through

He's only sounding the alarm because he believes that the public needs to know that there is something there

that he's doing a disservice not only to his constituents but to himself. The major headline here and what is a very long piece is that some of the people closest to Senator Fetterman, I mean, really close, are extremely concerned about his well-being and mental health

But outlets on the right are criticizing the left's portrayal of the senator and defending him

I mean, we just saw that video of him plowing down the hallway, step out of his way. He looked like he was fit as a fiddle

I think the timing of all of this is politically motivated. They're mad that he's a bipartisan politician. He's reaching across the aisle

I just spent over two hours with him four weeks ago for a sit-down interview with him and Dave McCormick

This is who he is, and he's very confident. Senator Fetterman got more articulate, more coherent, and more independent

And for that, and his recovery, he is owed apologies from people like myself

But weirdly, as he got better, the news around him got worse

Rhetoric from left and right outlets has changed over time since Fetterman was first elected to the U.S. Senate three years ago

Fetterman suffered a stroke while on the campaign trail for Pennsylvania's open Senate seat in 2022

His ongoing recovery challenges were a focal point in the race against Republican candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz

In a debate against Dr. Oz, Fetterman used a real-time closed-captioning machine to help with auditory processing

The debate was largely seen as a struggle for Fetterman, but he overcame winning the election

A few months later, he admitted himself into Walter Reed Medical Center for clinical depression

After six weeks of treatment, he was discharged and returned to the Senate floor

It was during this period that concerns over Fetterman were raised by the right

and left media were at his defense. Personally, I feel bad for Fetterman

He can't function at a level required to serve in the United States Senate

And according to physicians I've talked to six months after a stroke, this is probably the best John Fetterman's ever going to get

It unseemly for Democratic leaders to be pushing an unfit man who needs to be hooked up to machines into the most important legislative body in this country Democrats the media mob the Fetterman campaign they were all lying to all of us

John Fetterman is not mentally, physically, cognitively fit to serve. It was really strange to me that he chose to bully a stroke victim

Yeah, right. Like he obviously was bullying him. And I think it takes real courage to show that you've been knocked down

I think it takes real bravery to allow people to see your weakness, right

And we know that Fetterman's cognitive abilities have not been compromised. In terms of his ability to serve in the United States Senate

can he understand a tough national security issue before he casts a vote? Can he understand the complexities of a major health care bill if he had to cast a vote

Could he understand the major complexities of a tax bill if he had to conduct a vote

Can he read it as opposed to getting a briefing from the staff? Is that kind of the issue here

I think so. I think that's it. It does not appear to have a problem with understanding, comprehension

Fast forward to 2025. Left and right media have both taken a sharp turn

An exclusive from left-leaning New York Magazine with Fetterman's former top aide

suggests Fetterman is not fit to finish out his term. The magazine published the article earlier this month

interviewing Fetterman's former chief of staff, Adam Jentleson. He resigned from his position in March 2024, he says, because of Fetterman's behavior

Two months later, he wrote a letter to Fetterman's doctor who oversaw the senator when he was seeking treatment for clinical depression after winning the Pennsylvania Senate seat

Details of that letter were published in the article, reading his 1,600-word email came with the subject line, Concerns, and it contained a list of them

From the seemingly mundane, he eats fast food multiple times a day, to the scary, we do not know if he is taking his meds and his behavior frequently suggests he's not

Gentleson listed off some of his observations, such as conspiratorial thinking, rambling, repetitive and self-centered monologues, lying, avoiding regular checkups, driving his car recklessly, and noting to the doctor he had also bought a gun

New York Magazine wrote, Fetterman was asked specifically about this story, and here was his response

It was a hit piece, a one-source hit piece, and done some anonymous sources, so there's nothing new

It was just a dumb hit piece, and we've all moved on

It's just a disgruntled group of people, and there's only one there, so that's the same thing

There's no new news involved for this. During that CNN sit-down, the reporter asked if Fetterman was still taking his medication, to which Fetterman pushed back

Have you been keeping up with that, taking your medication? My doctors are like, John is great, and I am on all of the plan that it's always been, and it's incredibly invasive

And why are people talking about anyone's personal medical things? I think most people would agree that's really, really invasive

The New York Magazine story was the first of many this month. The articles about Fetterman's fitness kept coming

The Associated Press wrote, Senator John Fetterman raises alarms without burst at meeting with union officials, AP sources say

Reporting Fetterman began shouting and questioning why everybody is mad at him and slammed his hand on a desk When a staff member ended the meeting she broke down crying Teachers were rattled by Fetterman behavior In Axios story the outlet wrote Fetterman

unnerved aides, with staff saying he seems uninterested in the day-to-day duties of a

senator. And one more quick example for you here by another left-leaning outlet, Politico reporting

internal polling shows Fetterman support tanking. 49 percent polled had an unfavorable impression of

him, compared to 46 percent who have a favorable impression. Politico notes it's a single poll

and runs counter to other recent public surveys, like recent morning consult surveys that found

Fetterman's popularity rising due to new approval by some Republican voters. We don't know who or

what agency conducted the poll. The poll itself wasn't attached, so we also don't know the framing

of the questions. However, we know it consisted of 500 Democratic primary voters in Pittsburgh

according to Politico. Politico chose to spotlight in its headline the poll that it says suggests

Fetterman's numbers are tanking over the ones that show his popularity rising. We've talked about

polls a few times here on Bias Breakdown because polling is very easy to skew to fit a narrative

Word choice in describing these polls can also show a form of bias. According to media watchdog

group All Sides, journalists can reveal bias when they include subjective qualifying adjectives

in front of specific words or phrases. When a journalist uses qualifying adjectives

they are suggesting a way for you to think about or interpret the issue

instead of just giving you the facts and letting you make judgments for yourself

This can manipulate your view. So by classifying the poll as tanking

viewers could go into the article with a preconceived notion that his numbers have significantly declined

When really, there's no way for us to know if his numbers did indeed tank

because there was no comparison given in this Politico article. No other results were given that would suggest his approval started way up here

and over a period of time, it's now tanked to 46% approval

which some may see as low and others may see as high

Let's go ahead and move on. You've seen the recent accusations being made against Fetterman

and how left outlets are reporting on them. Now let's look at how some outlets on the right are covering the New York Magazine story

largely critical of the timing of the left's criticism. The Daily Wire wrote, as Fetterman defends Israel, Demm suddenly questioned his mental health

Democrats who once championed him and dismissed the effects of a stroke he sustained are questioning his mental health

The National Review wrote, in the wake of Fetterman's stroke, his election to the Senate

and his struggles in the job culminating in his admission to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center

Americans were told that the senator was just fine. Today, with Fetterman's speech pattern seemingly having fully recovered, we're told that he's truly unwell

And the New York Post wrote, liberal media turn on John Fetterman

Many conservative critics have taken aim at New York Magazine's hit piece and believe Fetterman's backing of Israel is the reason why liberals are suddenly abandoning him after rallying behind him on the heels of his stroke during the 2022 midterms

Let's talk about the facts here of what we know. Fetterman staffers are suggesting the senator is suffering from mental health issues

something Fetterman outright denies. Aside from this recent fit-to-serve controversy, the senator has stirred controversy within his own party

by some of the positions he taking that are seen as more moderate or actions seen as reaching across the aisle Things like being a staunch supporter of Israel and not calling for a ceasefire until all Hamas terrorists are eliminated

The position largely bucks the parties on the war in Gaza and more closely aligns with that

of Republicans. Fetterman also visited President Trump at Mar-a-Lago in January, a meeting which

received some Democratic backlash, to which Fetterman responded to at the time

But overall, it was just a straight up conversation. And I just have a rule like I'm going to engage and have a conversation

That's anyone playing it straight. And that's that's doing my job again

I didn't love the optics of you going to Mar-a-Lago. Maybe some people would be critical of that. But, you know, for me, engaging the president, I think when you're in this business, I mean, that's that's part of the job

Fetterman has also taken a strong stance on border security, calling for more action needed

and even calling out his own party in the process. One area where we kind of lost ourselves was the border. It can't be controversial

for our party to be pro-immigration, but we need a secure border

Fetterman was the co-sponsor of the Lake and Riley Act, a Republican-led bill requiring DHS

to detain immigrants here illegally if they're convicted of a crime. He was one of a dozen

Senate Democrats who voted with Republicans to pass that bill. He also voted with Republicans

to confirm 10 of President Trump's cabinet picks tied for the most help from a Democrat

in the confirmation process. That included some more controversial cross-the-aisle votes for Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner

Senator Fetterman has had a unique journey, both to the U.S. Senate and since being a U.S. Senator

In an NBC interview, Fetterman clarified he was no progressive in the party

but he also clarified he very much remained in the Democrats' camp

and also doesn't have plans to resign from his post. Right-leaning media questioned Fetterman's placement and capabilities early on

but have since come to defend Fetterman, suggesting he's being targeted by the left because of his ideology

While left-leaning media originally defended Fetterman's cognitive abilities to serve, now reports from the left are largely lifting up his staffer's newly surfaced mental health concerns

and asking the senator whether he should finish out his term. Left and right-leaning media have their own contrasting narratives over how much weight the staffer's concerns should carry, which has shaped their coverage over the story, instead of allowing you to decide it for yourself by laying out their concerns while also giving full context to Fetterman's evolution in the party

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