Sen. John Fetterman blames depression fight on campaign ‘brutality’
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) has tied his recent struggle with depression to the bruising 2022 campaign in which he won high office.
The former Pennsylvania lieutenant governor checked himself into Walter Reed Medical Center back in February to receive treatment for the condition following a health scare.
He was released March 31 and returned to the Senate weeks later.
“It was after the brutality of the campaign,” Fetterman told KDKA-TV this week about the origin of his recent mental health issues. “Some people believe that it was one of the most vicious political campaigns.”
Fetterman suffered a stroke days before his May 2022 victory in Pennsylvania’s Democratic primary.
While his supporters insisted he was fit to serve, his speech impediments and auditory processing issues caused Republicans — led by Fetterman’s opponent, Dr. Mehmet Oz — to argue otherwise.
“I don’t think there’s closed captioning on the floor of the Senate, and maybe he doesn’t need closed captioning when he’s actually moving around,” Oz, the celebrity heart surgeon, told Fox Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo in October. “But maybe he does. Again, lots of question marks, and voters deserve better.”
Fetterman refused to directly blame Oz for his mental health issues after his own campaign derided the doctor as an out-of-touch carpetbagger.
But after his victory, Fetterman said, he realized he was not himself.
“I wasn’t being the kind of senator Pennsylvania deserved. I wasn’t being the kind of husband Gisele deserved, I wasn’t being the kind of father my children deserved,” he said.
Despite his recent weeks-long absence from the upper chamber, Fetterman insists that he is both “mentally and physically” capable of carrying out his duties
“Hell, yes, and that’s why I’m doing it,” he told KDKA. “Just the way any Pennsylvanians are working, you take it a day and a day and work hard, and that’s exactly what I am doing here.”
If Fetterman proves unable to serve, Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro would appoint a replacement, with a special election to be held next year.
