Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) declared President-elect Donald Trump’s victory on election night a “serious flex for the bros.”
Fetterman spoke to Politico this week about Trump’s victory in his home state largely due to the former president’s appeal to male voters. He called out his fellow Democrats for failing to appeal to men in the same way.
“I think this election was a serious flex for bros. And you know, it was strange that Democrats are like, ‘Oh, childless cat ladies. How dare you.’ Okay, that is weird. I don’t know why [JD] Vance would say that — you can be pro-family without insulting people that choose not to have kids or are unable to have kids,” Fetterman said.
He continued, “But it’s the same thing. I mean, is the term ‘bros’ positive? And the media use that so liberally, pejoratively. Like, well, they’re unsophisticated, they’re shallow, or they’re crass. And we dismiss them.”
Fetterman added, “I don’t understand why you wouldn’t go on Rogan. I’ve always been a long-term fan of his. I don’t agree with him on everything. But don’t we all have the responsibility to challenge our views and to be a part of those conversations with people?”
He continued to attack Democrats for “scolding” voters and attacking Trump supporters.
“I love people that are absolutely going to vote for Trump. They’re not fascists. They’re not those things. I think if you go to the tickle switch, use those kinds of terms, then it’s kind of hard to walk back on those things. That’s kind of a word that really isn’t part of the vernacular for voters. Scolding harder or clutching the pearls harder, that’s never going to work for Democrats,” Fetterman said.
He specifically called out former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for forcing President Biden out of the race and suggesting he should have dropped out sooner.
“People like [Nancy] Pelosi, she really tried to — what’s the word I’m looking for? — she embraced this ‘She’s the Godmother, she’s the enforcer.’ And now she’s blaming Biden. Well, you can’t have it both ways. You got what you wanted, and now you’re still blaming Biden,” Fetterman said. “I think it’s really ironic that you have a woman at age 84 and she is still hanging on. Why not give a younger generation an opportunity to occupy that seat?”
Though Fetterman is no fan of Trump, he repeatedly warned his party that the former president had a “connection” with Pennsylvania voters, particularly after the first assassination attempt against him.
“Immediately after that, when I was out, I saw people with custom shirts with that image,” Fetterman said. “It’s like, ‘They tried everything. They impeached this man, they put him on trial. You know, the media. And now they tried to kill him, and he survived.’ And he had the presence of mind to even respond, and created that. What if that was [Barack] Obama? Can you imagine what that would have meant to Democrats?”
Like most of the country, Trump’s victory in Pennsylvania was largely driven by male voters. He won men under age 30 as well as increased his numbers with black men.
