Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who has long been the subject of intense criticism on Fox News over his health problems, drew high praise from the hosts of Fox & Friends on Friday thanks to his recent rebuke of progressives.
In an interview with the New York Times this week, Fetterman condemned “purity tests” he said progressives impose on Democrats, pointing specifically to his support for Israel and push to secure the southern border.
“It’s just a place where I’m not. I don’t feel like I’ve left the label; it’s just more that it’s left me,” Fetterman told the Times. “I’m not critical if someone is a progressive. I believe different things.”
“Two people have given me hope for this country,” Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade said Friday morning, citing Bill Maher — pointing to his strong support for Israel and cracking down on immigration and crime in the United States — and Fetterman, for similar reasons.
“It’s weird to see this transition because I find myself every single week retweeting something that Fetterman has said,” Lawrence Jones said. “He has been very supportive of Israel.”
Jones cited Fetterman’s interview in the Times, in which he accused both parties are “rooting for another blood clot. They have both now been wishing that I die.”
“He was so progressive, he was a progressive,” said guest-host Carly Shimkus.
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“Pennsylvania’s a swing state, so maybe he’s listening to the whole state,” Shimkus added.
Jones suggested that Fetterman “changed” after he spent six weeks in the hospital for clinical depression earlier this year.
“I think he has left the progressive side. I’m so grateful that he has been able to recover, but something changed in the middle of his recovery. Him going to therapy and everything. When he re-emerged his comments seemed to have changed.”
Fetterman has long been the subject of criticism on Fox News. Pete Hegseth, who hosts the weekend edition of Fox & Friends, attacked the senator in September for his health problems and his attire.
“He’s a slob who got elected as a zombie in Pennsylvania, and now he’s a senator and everyone knows it’s a joke,” Hegseth said. “He even knows it’s a joke. His family knows it’s a joke. Democrat Party looks like a joke for putting them on the dais in that outfit. We look like a joke as a country.”
Watch above, via Fox News.