John Fetterman sparks concern with ‘frightening’ opening speech back to Congress

Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman returned to the Senate this week with a “frightening” and “disturbing” maiden speech after being away for nearly two full months due to clinical depression.

The Democrat stepped back from his role in mid-February, finally returning to his position on Wednesday with a choppy maiden speech.

At a meeting of the Senate Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics and Research, the restorative legislator raised eyebrows with his speech pattern.

At one point, social media users said it was hard to understand what he was saying, while others said it felt like watching “an SNL skit.”

Fetterman has had a rocky start to his career in Washington after suffering a stroke in 2022 on the campaign trail and being hospitalized for his bout for clinical depression in early February.

The videos of Fetterman speaking at the meetings were posted to Twitter by Greg Price Wednesday afternoon and immediately exploded.

In a matter of hours, a two-minute clip of the Pennsylvania Senator has been viewed more than 4.9 million times.

The tweet itself has also been quoted and retweeted thousands of times.

Below the tweet, even more social media users weighed in on the senator’s speech.

“Frightening,” said political commentator Jewels Jones.

“Sad actually,” wrote social media user “Coach John Bailey.”

In response to Bailey’s tweet, another man agreed with his choice of an adjective.

“The exact word I would also use to describe that poor soul. There won’t be any jokes, just empathy for him and for the people of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” said Bruce Stover.

Others on the social media app haven’t been so kind to the Democratic politician.

This is what our tax money does. This is not a serious country,” one man wrote.

“Sounds like Norm MacDonald is on a bit,” commented Twitter user Nik Lentz.

‘Unreal. The sad thing is that he’s probably doing better than Feinstein right now. What an absolute mockery of our political system which prioritizes keeping these people in power and properly representing their constituents. Shameful…” wrote another.

However, some on Twitter were willing to pardon Fetterman a little.

‘I understand what he’s saying. He will continue to improve. Give this man mercy. His stroke did not affect his decision making. His speech is interrupted, but it is clear what he is saying,” one person wrote.

“He’s clearly trying and I don’t blame him. I don’t know what to say,” Cole Trim wrote.

Fetterman made his first appearance on Capitol Hill Monday since he was discharged from Walter Reed Medical Center last month.

He was fired at the end of March, but went home to Pennsylvania because the Senate was on spring break for two weeks.

“It’s great to be back,” Fetterman told reporters on The Hill at the time.

Nearly all lawmakers returned Monday — including Republican leader Mitch McConnell who was out of action after hitting his head in a fall.

A notable exception is Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, who remains in California, where she spent the past two months recovering from shingles. She hasn’t said when she’ll be back.