Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.) burned another bridge with the progressive movement that helped elect him on Wednesday when he came to the defense of President-elect Donald Trump with his first-ever post on Truth Social.
Fetterman referred to the hush-money case against Trump as “bullshit” in his debut on Trump’s social media platform.
“The Trump hush money and Hunter Biden cases were both bullshit, and pardons are appropriate,” Fetterman wrote. “Weaponizing the judiciary for blatant, partisan gain diminishes the collective faith in our institutions and sows further division.”
The post included a screenshot from an MSNBC article detailing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s recent opposition to Trump’s efforts to have the case dismissed. Bragg responded to Trump, who argued his victory in the 2024 presidential election should see the case thrown out, by stating that “president-elect immunity does not exist.”
Fetterman’s post reiterates remarks he made just last week during an appearance on ABC’s The View in which he called the criminal cases against President Joe Biden’s son and Trump “political.”
“In both cases, I think a pardon is appropriate and I really think collectively that America’s confidence in these types of institutions have been damaged by these kinds of cases, and we cannot allow these types of institutions to be weaponized against our political opponents,” Fetterman said.
The response to Fetterman has been mixed. Diehard Trump fans have largely flooded his post on Truth Social with low-quality memes and spam, while others partisanly argued that Trump’s case was not comparable to Hunter’s.
“Dude. There’s one huge difference. There was evidence against Hunter and none against Trump,” one commenter falsely claimed.
“Hunter illegally carried guns, and his laptop showed him committing even more crimes,” another said. “That doesn’t seem to equate with Trump’s accountants writing in ‘legal expense’ in the field that said expenses.”
A jury found Trump guilty of 34 felonies in May for falsifying records to cover up hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Hunter, who was pardoned by Biden this month, had been convicted of tax evasion and firearms-related charges.
Progressives over on Bluesky admonished Fetterman for the post and accused him of placating Trump and his base.
“Democratic Senator Fetterman continues to be a surprise. He is now on Truth Social posting in support of Trump and the MAGA agenda,” wrote one.
“Terrible take,” one user said of Fetterman’s post. “Can’t believe I ever liked this dude.”
“HUSH MONEY case? It was an ELECTION INTERFERENCE case, and he was found guilty,” another added. “What the hell is Fetterman even doing on Truth Social?”
The Pennsylvania senator’s foray into Truth Social is just the latest move to stir up backlash from his Democratic supporters.
Fetterman’s ardent support of Israel amid its ongoing war with Palestine has led to widespread backlash.
Fetterman also outraged progressives after mocking a group of young climate change activists on video.
As far back as December 2023, supporters of Fetterman were asking for their “money back” due to his clear shift in politics.
But on the flip side, this will only entrench his “based” status on the right.
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