Editorial: What’s up with Fetterman/Trump meeting?
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U.S. Sen. John Fetterman is seldom shy about making his feelings known.
Whether he is walking the halls of the Russell Senate Office Building in his signature hoodie-and-shorts ensemble or dropping a zinger on social media, Fetterman is unapologetically himself. In a Washington full of blue-suited, red-tied carbon copies who don’t say a word publicly that hasn’t been focus-grouped and workshopped, Fetterman is unique.
In the past year or so, that’s been even more clear as the man who was a very progressive mayor of Braddock and lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania has found himself spending more time in the middle — if not a tad to the right — of major issues.
It started with defense of Israel in the aftermath of the Hamas attacks in October 2023. That was followed by immigration and the southern border as he criticized Republicans and Democrats alike for making the issue a litmus test for party loyalty.
Then in May, Fetterman — the guy who was an integral part of an epic June 2019 etiquette low point in the state Senate with a partisan screaming match — took to X.com and criticized the U.S. House of Representatives by comparing it unfavorably to “The Jerry Springer Show.” That merited him a scathing retort from U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortes, D-N.Y.
Since the November election, the senator has been, if not always outright supportive of some of President-elect Donald Trump’s plans or nominations, at least open to discussion.
Now Fetterman is upending expectations again as he accepts an invitation to visit Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
This shouldn’t be surprising for a number of reasons.
First, it’s in keeping with Fetterman’s pattern of talking to everyone about anything. Like him or not, Fetterman always seems down for a conversation.
Second, it’s politically expedient for anyone to try to have at least some kind of working relationship with the incoming administration. For someone in a now Republican-controlled Senate, it makes even more sense.
But last? It’s what everyone should do.
“I’m the Senator for all Pennsylvanians — not just Democrats in Pennsylvania,” Fetterman said in a statement Thursday. “I’ve been clear that no one is my gatekeeper. I will meet with and have a conversation with anyone if it helps me deliver for Pennsylvania and the nation.”
Every elected official needs to remember that they don’t just work for the people who picked them. They work for the Democrats, Republicans, independents, Green Party members, libertarians and people who have never picked up a ballot. They work for the people who can’t vote because of citizenship or other statuses that don’t allow voting. They work for kids who can’t vote yet.
If Trump said he wouldn’t work with the Democrats, he would be rightly criticized for that. If Trump wouldn’t work with Pittsburghers because Allegheny County voted for President Joe Biden, people would doubtless call that out, and they would be right.
Government has devolved from diplomacy and compromise into a high school cafeteria where people are judged on their clothes and cliques, and it has to stop somewhere.
If Fetterman is prepared to meet with Trump and vice versa, that’s a meeting that should be encouraged instead of treated with skepticism.