Speaking to the very left-leaning New York Times in an interview published on the morning of Saturday, October 26, Democrat United States Senator from Pennsylvania John Fetterman commented on Trump’s massive amount of support in the Keystone State, a massively important swing state Fetterman has previously indicated he thinks Trump can win.
During the NYT interview, Sen. Fetterman particularly focused on the “astonishing” amount of support that ordinary Pennsylvanians have for the former president, something that he sees Elon Musk’s support as helping a great deal. In fact, he said that Elon Musk’s endorsement of Trump is “going to really matter” in the election.
Those comments came when the NYT asked him for the Saturday interview about the level of enthusiasm for the former president in the Keystone State. Responding, Sen. Fetterman told the New York Times, “There’s a difference between not understanding, but also acknowledging that it exists.” He continued, “And anybody who spends time driving around, and you can see the intensity. It’s astonishing.”
Building on that, the senator commented on one of the huge Trump superstores in a “very, very red” are of the state, noting that such things are showing that the Trump phenomenon and support for him has taken on a life of its own as his political career has progressed and he has remained in the news cycle and in the hearts of Americans.
Speaking about that, Sen. Fetterman continued, “I was doing an event in Indiana County. Very, very red. And there was a superstore of Trump stuff, and it was a hundred feet long. [There were] dozens of T-shirts and hats and bumper stickers and all kinds of, I mean, it’s like, Where does this all come from? It’s the kind of thing that has taken on its own life. And it’s like something very special exists there. And that doesn’t mean that I admire it. It’s just — it’s real.”
Fetterman then turned from the former president himself to Elon Musk, telling the NYT that Elon’s support is going to really help Trump. He said, “And now [Elon] Musk is joining him. I mean, to a lot of people, that’s Tony Stark. That’s the world’s richest guy. And he’s obviously, and undeniably, a brilliant guy, and he’s saying, Hey, that’s my guy for president. That’s going to really matter.”
The senator then added that while he normally sees such endorsements as not a big deal and overblown, this one is likely meaningful and has him concerned for the fate of Democrats in his state. Making that point, the senator said, “Endorsements, they’re really not meaningful often, but this one is, I think. That has me concerned.”
Then, noting that this election has turned into people deciding whether they liked the Trump years or Biden years more, he said, “It’s visceral. And that’s why the people that are left that haven’t made up their decision are going, you know, what do I want for the next four years? And I do believe enough people will choose Harris. But it’s going to be much, much closer than anyone would want.”
Watch Fetterman speak about the astonishing level of support for Trump here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
"*" indicates required fields