(The Center Square) – A report from the Associated Press claims that U.S. Sen. John Fetterman had an “outburst” while meeting with representatives from Pennsylvania teachers union last week.
The incident raises concerns about the senator’s mental health following a stroke during his 2022 campaign and a subsequent six-week hospitalization for depression in 2023.
The reporting alleges that “Fetterman began repeating himself, shouting and questioning why ‘everybody is mad at me,’ ‘why does everyone hate me, what did I ever do’ and slamming his hands on a desk,” during a meeting with Pennsylvania State Education Association President Aaron Chapin and teachers representing the union.
The source who was briefed on the matter also indicated that a staffer ended the meeting and “broke down crying” in the hallway.
It isn’t the first sign of trouble from Fetterman’s staff in recent days. Last week, New York magazine published a troubling article quoting a letter from his former chief of staff, Adam Jentleson, who said he was worried about the senator and believed there were indications that he had swerved from his medical treatment plan.
Some say a high-speed crash he caused in Maryland last year was evidence of a larger pattern of reckless and erratic behavior, while many have questioned his fitness for office. Long before health issues surfaced, Fetterman was a divisive and iconoclastic figure, straining against political norms.
Fetterman responded to the piece in New York Magazine by calling it a “hit piece” and said the meeting with teachers was “a spirited conversation about our collective frustration with the Trump administration’s cuts to our education system.”
Defenders and detractors have raised the question as to whether his colleagues and the public are concerned about the senator’s health or whether it’s a convenient frame to view his surprising breaks with his own party. His recent defense of President Donald Trump and outspoken support for Israel’s war on Hamas have drawn criticism from many on the left.
The conflation of mental fitness with unpopular political ideas has been a frequent topic of discussion, especially as recent years have seen the administrations of America’s two oldest presidents, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, both of which have weathered accusations of cognitive decline.
The phenomenon points to a bigger picture, one of particular significance in Fetterman’s home state of Pennsylvania where there is an ongoing struggle for mental health care accessibility as well as a massive increase in older adults suffering from cognitive issues both from brain injuries like stroke and from Alzheimer’s and related diseases.
The American Stroke Association says that 30% of stroke survivors develop depression after a stroke. This can lead not only to the better known symptoms of depression like sadness and suicidal ideation but also to decreased executive functioning and increased irritability and agitation.
The commonwealth sees about 2,000 deaths by suicide annually, and the average wait time to see a psychiatrist is four to six weeks. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, about 60% of adults who experience major depression do not receive professional help.
