As Pennsylvania Lt. Governor and Democratic Senate nominee John Fetterman leads Republican nominee Dr. Mehmet Oz in the commonwealth’s midterm elections, Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro broke down why Fetterman represents the worst of American politicians — and why the media glorifies him.
Fetterman served as the longtime mayor of Braddock, Pennsylvania, before his current stint in Harrisburg. The unorthodox politician — who wears hoodies and basketball shorts while in public and towers at six feet, eight inches — has been lauded by the media as a man of the people. Yet Shapiro noted that the candidate’s attire is more characteristic of a lazy slob than a middle-class, blue-collar rust belt voter.
“He’s authentic, don’t you know? Authentic, you see, means you wear Dickies, and your aides tweet snarky things about your opponents,” Shapiro commented. “Most of all, according to the media, authentic means you are radically unsuccessful. You are a giant loser — like a giant who is a loser and also a giant loser.”
The media love John Fetterman because he is a career useless person. That’s their chief qualification for high office: being a drain on everyone else. Because that’s what they want government to be. pic.twitter.com/m7YT5WOMpA
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) August 21, 2022
Fetterman served as the mayor of Braddock — an impoverished city of fewer than 2,000 people — for more than a decade on a salary of $1,800 because his parents gave him an allowance of tens of thousands of dollars per year. Meanwhile, his sister allowed him to rent an apartment virtually for free.
“To be a true rebel, you have to show you’re actually a giant loser, and that you’ve never done a thing of actual economic value for any other human being,” Shapiro continued. “You have to leech off your parents while in public service. You have to be a professional useless person.”
Shapiro compared Fetterman to other “career useless” politicians such as former President Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), President Joe Biden, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) — who was once kicked off a commune after three days for failing to work. Yet Fetterman’s record is also incongruous with Pennsylvania voters because of his radical political positions.
“In 2016, Fetterman signed a pledge to support the so-called Keep It in the Ground Act, which was designed to ban new oil, gas, and coal leasing on federal land,” Shapiro said. “He has pushed repeatedly for pardons or commutations for violent felons. He said Pennsylvania could release one-third of its inmates and be just as safe.”
Indeed, Fetterman has repeatedly nodded to drug decriminalization and monitored injection sites, as well as defended Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, who is currently under investigation from Republican and Democratic members of the Pennsylvania House for failing to enforce the city’s laws.
Fetterman also suffered a stroke days ahead of the primary elections. On the rare occasion he appears in public, he tends to slur, stutter, repeat himself, and lose his train of thought. Instead of engaging with voters on the campaign trail, Fetterman has opted to troll Oz over his links to New Jersey — even though Fetterman himself seems to have a soft spot for the Garden State.
“He took a vacation to the Jersey Shore — security team in tow — all while telling Americans to continue locking down,” Shapiro observed.
Referring to a report from economists Stephen Moore and Jon Decker showing that most Biden administration officials have zero years of business experience, Shapiro hammered leftists for favoring slothfulness while scorning Dr. Oz, Donald Trump, Mitt Romney, and other Republicans who have managed to be successful in the business world.
“You see, the real sin in the land of Democrats is earning money by actually creating value,” Shapiro explained. “It’s a point of pride to be a useless human being.”