Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., called out Democrats who have pubically criticized President Biden on Thursday and suggested they start wearing MAGA hats because they were only helping Donald Trump.
The Democratic senator was asked on MSNBC what he believed was the biggest issue for Pennsylvanians going into the 2024 election. The winner of the critical swing state has won the White House in 11 of the last 13 elections, including Biden in 2020 and Trump in 2016.
"I think the most important issue is just like, what do we want for this state and what do we want for this nation? And… kind of for the world order as well, too. It’s going to be very competitive, as well, too. And the president is going to win here in Pennsylvania. And I’ve always believed that whoever wins Pennsylvania is going to be the next president as well, too. This is going to be difficult. We all have to lean in on that," he said during his media appearance.
He added that there were "all kinds of Democrats" criticizing the president "too publicly," and said, "I don’t understand why. I don’t know what it’s in it for you to do that, whether you’re just chasing clout or you want to make it in the news or anything like that. But, if you’re not willing to support the president now and say these kinds of things, you might as well just get your MAGA hat, because you now are helping Trump at this."
Biden has recently faced mounting criticism over his age and memory following Special Counsel Robert Hur's report on his handling of documents from Democrats and media pundits. Polls show a tight race between him and Trump this year as they appear headed for a rematch.
Democratic strategist James Carville has been sounding the alarm on Biden's low poll numbers for several months., and other figures like ex-Obama aide David Axelrod have raised concerns about his general election viability.
Fetterman was asked about Trump's lead in the polls during an interview in late December.
"But that doesn’t really matter," Fetterman said of the polls in an interview. "There’s a whole lifetime in politics between now and next November as well. I’m not worried about that. And I’m very vocal about this, too, while there are Democrats that are being very critical about the president... I’ll use this [as] another opportunity to tell James Carville to shut the f--- up."
"Like I said," Fetterman continued, "my man hasn’t been relevant since grunge was a thing. And I don’t know why he believes it’s helpful to say these kinds of things about an incredibly difficult circumstance with an incredibly strong and decent and excellent president. I’ll never understand that."
The Pennsylvania senator also issued a warning to younger voters in early February, and compared a lack of support among the voting bloc to Democratic support of Hillary Clinton in 2016. Lack of progressive enthusiasm for Clinton helped contribute to Trump's upset victory that year.
Younger progressives have criticized the president over his position in the Israel-Hamas conflict. He told Politico's Jonathan Martin that young progressives should consider not enabling Trump, "who would likely give Netanyahu even more of a free hand," Martin wrote.
"I said the same thing in 2016 to voters, I said: ‘Hey, you know what, you don’t like Clinton, you know what f--- around and find out what Trump is going to be about and, hey guess what, how’d you like it?’" Fetterman said, according to Politico.
Fox News' Jeffrey Clark contributed to this report.
