Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) dismissed criticism after he shook hands with President Donald Trump at the State of the Union address, stating that if people are angry, “that’s on them.”
During an interview on CNN’s The Arena with Kasie Hunt, Fetterman was asked why he thought it was “important to shake President Trump’s hand.” The senator pointed out that he is the president, adding that it is just “basic respect and courtesy.”
“We have to find a way if we can be in the same room, we can disagree on these things,” Fetterman said. “You don’t have to sign off on everything. You don’t have to agree with everything.”
He continued to explain that if he hears something that he agrees with or likes, he is going to “stand up and clap for those things.”
“If someone’s angry that I shook the President’s hand as he walked in, I think that’s on them,” Fetterman added, pointing out that the people who are upset he shook Trump’s hand “didn’t really have a problem” when New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani visited the White House.
“If we refuse to talk to the other side, I mean, that’s the only one that really loses: that’s America,” he added.
In response to Fetterman being seen shaking Trump’s hand at the State of the Union, several people took to social media to criticize the Democrat senator, labeling him a “true traitor” and a “sellout.”
“Fetterman wears a suit and tie for Trump,” one user wrote in a post on X. “I hate him. We need to get him out.”
“Sell out,” another person wrote.
“@JohnFetterman so you can wear a suit and tie,” another person wrote, commenting on how Fetterman was dressed up for Trump’s State of the Union address. “Just say you’re a Republican already.”
