Last week, a tense and emotional moment took place between Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman and a delegation from a teachers’ union, leaving many in shock and one of Fetterman’s staffers in tears. The situation has brought growing concerns about Fetterman’s mental health to the forefront. Many have concerns about Fetterman’s health in general. Fetterman suffered a life-threatening stroke three years ago. This most recent incident comes as scrutiny about Fetterman’s mental and emotional health has become public.
Chief Of Staff Letter
Adam Jentleson, John Fetterman’s former chief of staff, made public allegations in a letter he penned in 2024 to a Walter Reed neuropsychiatrist, calling Fetterman’s mental state on a “bad trajectory.” Back in 2022, John Fetterman suffered a stroke and went to Walter Reed Hospital for care.
In 2023, he returned to Walter Reed seeking help for clinical depression. Fetterman has received accolades for being so publicly open about his struggles with mental health issues; however, recently, his behavior has raised red flags and questions within his party as he begins his third term in the Senate.
John Fetterman Has Met With Trump
Fetterman has openly met with Donald Trump since taking office, which is rare for a member of the Democratic Party. Fetterman was popular with the left, but his recent alignment on issues like Israel has distanced him from his party. During last week’s meeting in Fetterman’s Washington, D.C., office, everything seemed to be going as planned, then suddenly Fetterman’s demeanor unraveled.
John Fetterman Loses Control
He began repeating himself and shouting. He slammed his hands on his desk and demanded to know, “Why, why does everyone hate me? What did I ever do?” Fetterman’s staff quickly cut the meeting short. After everyone was removed, one of the staffers walked into the hallway and broke down in tears. A member of the union, seeing the staff member’s distress, came over and tried to comfort her.
Fetterman Issues Statement
John Fetterman stated the meeting and described it as a “spirited conversation about our collective frustration with the Trump administration’s cuts to our education system. I will always support our teachers, and I will always reject anyone’s attempt to turn Pennsylvania‘s public schools into a voucher program,” he added.
Erratic Behavior
In Jentleson’s letter, he warned that Fetterman was not properly attending his doctor’s appointments and had pushed away those who were responsible for helping him handle his mental health. He also wrote that Fetterman had stopped taking his prescribed medications. There were also accusations that Fetterman was displaying reckless behavior, including texting and driving at high speeds.
“He has picked fights with each person involved in that system and used those fights as excuses to push them out and cut them off from any knowledge about his health situation,” Jentleson wrote. Reportedly, Fetterman’s wife, Gisele, refused to speak to him until he underwent required blood work after he missed an appointment. Fetterman shrugged off the accusations, saying, “It involved maybe two or three anonymous, disgruntled staffers saying just absolutely false things.”
