Fetterman: Trump's 'special' place in Pennsylvania 'deepened' after shooting

[Polybius]

Source: The Hill

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) said he thinks former President Trump has a “special” place among Pennsylvania voters and it only deepened after a gunman opened fire at a Trump rally in the state in July.

“Trump has created a special kind of a hold … and he’s remade the party and he has a special kind of place in Pennsylvania,” Fetterman said Thursday to a crowd at The Atlantic Festival. “And I think that only deepened after that first assassination attempt.”

The upcoming election is expected to be a tight race, particularly in the critical battleground state of Pennsylvania. Recent polling has shown Vice President Harris tied with or leading Trump in the state, but Fetterman warned there is real support for Trump there.

“I also want people to understand, you know, and it’s not science, but there is, there’s energy and there’s kinds of anger on the ground in Pennsylvania, and people are very committed and strong,” Fetterman said. “Trump is going to be strong and … we have to respect that.”

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4889312-fetterman-trumps-special-place-in-pennsylvania-deepened-after-shooting/

[LeftInTX]

1. Be unpopular, get shot (but not really hurt), get popular, get unpopular, close encounter again, poll bump

He got a boost in the polls from Sunday's event....

I hate Trump. He bucks all the security. Everyone gets hurt but him.
He's like a god or something.
I hate him

[disappearingboy]

2. So what is he saying?

We should give up on trying to win Pennsylvania?

[shiloh13]

3. No

That is not what he is saying in the least.
It's just PA has strong support for Trump.
So we must keep pushing hard.

We give nothing up this election.
Nothing.

[ArizonaLib]

5. Leave Nothing On The Field

To put it in sports terms. Sleep well at night knowing everything possible was done.

Spot on, Shiloh13!

[FakeNoose]

13. He's saying it's our job to GET OUT THE VOTE

The Democratic voters in Pennsylvania will make the difference. We can't sit back and expect "the other Party" to fall apart because they're not sitting back on us.

Fetterman has been around the state in the last several elections. He talks to people all around the state, even those who don't vote for him.

I still believe that Pennsylvania voters - especially the independents - will come out for Kamala and Tim. We have a lot of registered voters who are unaffiliated with either party. When the Dems and the Indies work together, it's magic!

[Big Blue Marble]

4. Doesn't sound like Fetterman is a team player?

Perhaps more interested in his next run for the Senate then he is in helping VP Harris win in Pennsylvania.

[yardwork]

12. A team player is one who tells his team the true situation.

A team player is somebody who tells people what they need to hear, not just what they want to hear.

The polls all reflect what Fetterman is saying, and it's not just in PA. A lot of people are dedicated to Trump, despite everything. This race is close and we could lose. We have to fight like hell.

[displacedvermoter]

31. Agree.

If Bernie said something like this the usual gang would be roaring.

[mwb970]

6. This guy is on our side, right?

[regnaD kciN]

10. He was when he asked for our votes in 2022...

…since then, not so much.

[captain queeg]

7. I just think he's giving us a warning. Right now it's looking good for Harris but we've got a ways to go.

He probably has a better feel for politics in Pa.

[onetexan]

8. Exactly, he said not to be complacent

[Roy Rolling]

9. "Special Place"

That special place must be Stockholm, because those hurting from Trump’s mismanagement shouldn’t look to him for answers. His solutions always help himself, and his advice to others is “fuck your feelings”. Pennsylvania macho men need to wise up and find another orange Jesus.

He doesn’t have answers because he’s the problem.

[Deminpenn]

11. That's my sense, too

Fetterman is pretty tuned in to the red areas of PA. He visted those areas many times while he was LtGov.

It's not to the level of 2016, but I've seen more Trump yard signs than in 2020. I'd say enthusiasm for Trump is less than 2016, but more than 2020. The recent F and M Poll that has Harris up by 4 also had a finding regarding "infrequent voters". While Harris has a nice lead among those who vote regularly, with the infrequent voters, Trump is up 47-46. These are the voters who showed up in droves in 2016.

I'd look at Trafalger and some of the rw polls to gauge what this effect might be.

[muriel_volestrangler]

14. No one "has to respect" anything about Trump

Fetterman, by using the word "respect", is legitimizing voting for Trump. I know he didn't want to do that, but he fucked up. You could say "we have to allow for that", or "we have to realise that".

Perhaps there's stuff left out of the report (I can't find a more comprehensive one), but Democrats, when mentioning Trump and voting in public, should always be reminding people that he attempted a coup, he's a racist, he's a rapist, and so on.

He's refusing to see the reality: anyone who votes for Trump is deplorable. Even if you don't call them that, you've got to tell the awful truth about Trump, and let people come to the "deplorable" conclusion themselves.

[Walleye]

26. I guess I have to conclude that there are some men who admire rapists.

Talking about the voters in Pennsatucky, not the senator of course

[twodogsbarking]

15. Fetterman understands Pa. people. You have to confront the enemy and not just bash them.

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. Any idea how Fetterman "confronted" Trump?

As a matter of interest, why do you think Pennsylvanians don't like people being "bashed"? I found them pretty straight talkers.

[twodogsbarking]

17. Confront Trump don't just bash him, not Pennsylvanians.

[muriel_volestrangler]

18. Just repeating your words, leaving a few out, doesn't help.

How did Fetterman "confront" Trump? In the report, there's nothing that could be called "confrontation".

If you're saying that you don't know how Fetterman confronted Trump, but you trust that he did, then describe Trump should be confronted in a speech, apart from bashing him.

And I hope you do agree that bashing Trump is vital. It's the duty of every thinking person in the world to bash Trump.

[twodogsbarking]

19. He is telling us to not underestimate trump. That is confronting him.

I choose not to argue about, well, nothing.

[muriel_volestrangler]

20. Fuck me, you have a pretty low standard of "confrontation".

I would say "don't underestimate VP Harris". And I wouldn't mean that confrontationally at all. I'd mean it as a compliment, though a criticism of others who have underestimated her.

If that's the extent of your argument against Trump - "don't underestimate him" - then I'm glad the politicians aren't following your advice. I really hope Fetterman has been a lot more confrontational than your standard. And I hope he does a lot of Trump-bashing in the future, even if he's ended up being reporting without any this time.

[twodogsbarking]

21. Well ok then, you win.

[TBF]

22. "Don't kill the messenger" comes to mind - he's giving us good info

I assume he's talking about rural Pennsylvania, which may be very much like rural anywhere in the midwest. These are the places where Trump's base lives. Many of them are convinced (with the help of right wing media) that he didn't lose against Biden - that the election was stolen.

Coming out of the pandemic everything has been more expensive. I'm in the suburbs of a huge city and noticed all of it - the groceries, the gas, the car insurance, etc - on and on. Biden had a big job leading us out of the pandemic, and economists think he did a great job, all things considered. But that doesn't help the folks in rural areas who are living paycheck to paycheck. It has always amazed me that they think a circus clown who couldn't keep his casinos afloat after inheriting millions of dollars is the one to save them - but they absolutely are going to blame the sitting president for the higher prices and high interest rates (whether they should or not).

Fetterman is reminding us so we figure out how to tackle that. It doesn't matter if they are right about who they are blaming, the key is that they believe it. We need to tackle that, and also GOTV with our typical supporters.

[yardwork]

23. This, every word.

[twodogsbarking]

24. I agree. Well stated.

Just don't say this is "confronting" Trump. Thanks.

[muriel_volestrangler]

25. He's not "giving us info". You said way more than he did. He just said "we have to respect that".

You could say "we have to respect that" about almost anything - things you respect, mainly. And we have to hope to God that Fetterman does not respect Trump.

Let's see how Fetterman's words would run if it were Trump talking about someone he respects.

"Putin has created a special kind of a hold … and he’s remade the party and he has a special kind of place in Kursk. ... And I think that only deepened after that first coup attempt. ... I also want people to understand, you know, and it’s not science, but there is, there’s energy and there’s kinds of anger on the ground in Kursk, and people are very committed and strong ... Putin is going to be strong and … we have to respect that.”

If you think Fetterman gave us "info", list it. What you've done is assume he was talking about economic hardship. But there's absolutely nothing about that in the report at all.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

30. That's exactly what he's saying,

don't underestimate the power of Been A Dick Donald in PA and GOTV, GOTV, GOTV and we will win PA.
I don't understand why some here are willingly throwing him under the bus?

[TBF]

33. Some like to argue -

and don't have a clue how folks in small towns really live. I'm still connected to my folks back home & I don't have to guess what they think because they spell it all out on their facebook pages.

[CrispyQ]

27. For all the people questioning Fetterman's motives,

I remember DU scorching Michael Moore in July 2016 when he dared to say Clinton would lose in MI, OH, PA, & WI.

I think circumstances are very different & the energy feels much more like 2008 than 2016, but don't forget 2016 & especially don't forget 2000. Another December 12, 2000. That's their goal.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

29. Amazing how fast some here are willing to throw him under the bus

all the while misinterpreting what he said and meant.

I sometimes think that we're our own worst enemy.

[kansasobama]

28. An asshole getting shot - should not happen but..

An asshole is still an asshole. Granted, no one should be shot. There is no place violence in democracy. However, it does not give him a special place. For what? Special place to allow him to dismantle democracy? Special place for him to create J6 like violence?

[BlueKota]

32. Respect and Trump

Two words that never should be used in the same sentence.