Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman defended President Joe Biden after many outlets and pundits have called for his exit from the presidential race after a lackluster performance at Thursday's debate with former President Donald Trump.
On Friday, Fetterman said he refused to join "vultures on Biden's shoulder" panning his debate performance.
"No one knows more than me that a rough debate is not the sum total of the person and their record," wrote Fetterman, who suffered a stroke during the 2022 Democratic Senate primary, also sharing a screenshot of a POLITICO story titled: "'WTF':Panicked Dems start looking for alternatives to Biden."
"Morning-after thermonuclear beat downs from my race from the debate and polling geniuses like 538 predicted l’d lose by 2," Fetterman continued in reference to his Senate race with TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz. "And what happened? The only seat to flip and won by a historic margin (+5). Chill the f--- out." Morning-after thermonuclear beat downs from my race from the debate and polling geniuses like 538 predicted l’d lose by 2.
And what happened?
The only seat to flip and won by a historic margin (+5).
Chill the fuck out.
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) June 28, 2024
Later Friday, Fetterman shared an op-ed from The New York Times calling for Biden's exit from the race.
"F--- that," he wrote. fuck that pic.twitter.com/OlV7bk3aqM
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) June 28, 2024
In another post, Fetterman described Biden as a “Great President during terrible circumstances. Beat Trump decisively. Held every line.”
“Any Dem is free to put your bad self into that arena for the Iron Throne. But if you’re not proud to stan Biden, it’s just cheap shots from the cheap seats,” he added.
Later Monday, Fetterman shared an image of a man giving two middle fingers in response to The Hill's coverage of Democratic strategist James Carville suggesting Biden should be replaced. https://t.co/PfJmDYubMi pic.twitter.com/GH8rtoScpx
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) July 2, 2024
Other politicians have thrown support behind Biden including former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton threw support behind Biden following Thursday's debate.
"Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know." Obama wrote in an X post. "But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself. "Between someone who tells the truth; who knows right from wrong and will give it to the American people straight — and someone who lies through his teeth for his own benefit."
"Last night didn’t change that, and it’s why so much is at stake in November," Obama added.
Clinton said he would leave debate recaps to pundits, though said "facts and history matter."
"Joe Biden has given us 3 years of solid leadership, steadying us after the pandemic, creating a record number of new jobs, making real progress solving the climate crisis, and launching a successful effort in reducing inflation, all while pulling us out of the quagmire Donald Trump left us in," Clinton wrote.
