Copyright The Philadelphia Inquirer
Sen. John Fetterman joined ABC’s The View on Tuesday for a virtual interview in which he vehemently defended his votes to end the government shutdown and shared some of the thinking behind his new memoir. The Pennsylvania Democrat joined the daytime talk show at a key moment for his party and for his personal brand. In a pair of votes Sunday and Monday, Fetterman and seven other senators crossed party lines to vote for a GOP-backed bill to end the government shutdown. And Tuesday, the senator’s memoir, Unfettered, was published. Fetterman upheld his position to end the shutdown, saying that maintaining a lapse in federal funding would make air travel “less safe,” perpetuate hardships for military members and other federal workers, and “weaponize” SNAP, the crucial food assistance program on which many families depend. ”When you’re confronting mass chaos, you know, I don’t think you should respond with more chaos or fight with more chaos. It’s like, no, we need to be the party of order and logic," Fetterman said of his approach to the shutdown. He also sidestepped a question on whether Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat who has led the caucus since 2017, is an effective figure for the party in this moment. It’s “not really my concern right now,” Fetterman said. Schumer voted against the bill, but his No. 2, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, was among the eight caucus members who backed the Republican plan. In a more tense moment of the interview, co-host Sunny Hostin suggested Fetterman, and the other moderate senators who voted with Republicans, caved. Democrats had been holding out on ending the shutdown to try to get Republicans to concede on extending Affordable Care Act tax credits set to expire at the end of 2025. Hostin noted that other elected officials, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, and even Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R., Ga.) differ from Fetterman on this issue. “Why give in now?” Hostin asked Fetterman. “Why bring a butter knife to a gun fight? Are you willing to gamble that the GOP will negotiate on health care in good faith once the government reopens, because if that gamble is wrong, half a million Pennsylvanians that you represent, their healthcare costs will skyrocket if you are wrong, and I believe you are wrong.” Fetterman replied by saying that “MTG is literally the last person in America” he would take advice from and called her a “crazy pants.” He added that he doesn’t need a “lecture” from Sanders or Newsom because they represent two of the most progressive states in the country. Fetterman maintained throughout his appearance that his actions are in an effort to serve his constituents in purple Pennsylvania. “That might be a bigger problem with our party in some way that a committed Democrat from the most difficult and purple state in the country says, ‘Hey, you know, I’m trying to call balls and strikes in the middle of this chaos,’” Fetterman said during his appearance on The View. After the commercial break, the hosts discussed Unfettered, which is largely about his mental health journey. He also details his strained relationship with Gov. Josh Shapiro, his meeting with President Donald Trump, and his thoughts on the U.S. Senate. Fetterman said he wanted to share about his struggles with depression in the book to help other people who may be experiencing something similar, noting that three years ago he couldn’t get out of bed, but now he’s grateful to be in a much better place. He said he dedicated the memoir to people struggling with their mental health. “I know it may not be a big political winner to talk about these things, but I do think it’s an important one to have, because a lot of people are suffering and may not able to talk about it,” Fetterman said.
