Those who pushed Joe Biden off the ticket should 'own' the election outcome, Sen. John Fetterman says

Rob Tornoe, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Nov 8, 2024

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PHILADELPHIA — U.S. Sen. John Fetterman said in an interview with Semafor published Friday that those who pushed President Joe Biden off the ticket in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris should “own the outcome and fallout” following her loss to President-elect Donald Trump.

Fetterman, D-Pa., ultimately endorsed Harris, but was a fierce defender of Biden following his disastrous debate with Trump in June. At the time, Fetterman described Biden as the only person in the country “that’s ever kicked Trump’s ass in an election,” and he has stuck by that sentiment.

”For those that decided and moved to break Biden, and then you got the election that you wanted, it’s appropriate to own the outcome and fallout,” Fetterman told Semafor’s David Weigel. “The options: Double down on the only person that’s ever beat Trump, or demand an alternative. When the outcome didn’t support your thesis and actions, then own it.”

”There’s a lot of egos, institutions and reputations that championed the alternative. When you take a reasonable, calculated risk ... embrace your culpability for what you found out,” Fetterman added.

Fetterman, an outspoken defender of trans rights, also credited relentless anti-trans campaign ads run by the Trump campaign for having an impact on the election. An ad featured an edited 2019 video of Harris discussing her support for gender-affirming surgery for transgender people in prison, and closed with the line, “She’s for they/them, and Trump is for you.”

”Two things. I refuse to throw members of the gay or trans communities under the bus. I’ll never walk away from them,” Fetterman said. “But it’s also true, undeniably, that if someone ran for president in 2020 and pandered to that Squad mentality, or to get likes on Twitter, and they made those kinds of statements about gender, they were going to be pretty hard to defend.”

During the interview and on social media, Fetterman also called out liberals who cast their ballot for Green Party candidate Leila Hazou in Pennsylvania’s tight U.S. Senate race, where Republican Dave McCormick has narrowly been declared the winner over incumbent Sen. Bob Casey.

McCormick was projected the winner by the Associated Press Thursday, and on Friday afternoon he held an about 37,000-vote lead over Casey. Hazou, a Palestinian small-business owner in Pike County, received over 64,000 votes. The race could end up in a recount, and Casey has yet to concede. McCormick is also challenging some ballots in Philadelphia.

“To all of those dopes that voted Green against Bob Casey, that was the necessary votes that would have absolutely closed the gap in his race,” Fetterman said. “Well, congratulations. You just are helping elect a Republican that’s definitely not going to be protecting your kinds of values.”

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