All By Himself: John Fetterman insists he is in good health. But staffers past and present say they no longer recognize
When John Fetterman was released from Walter Reed hospital in March 2023, Adam Jentleson, then his chief of staff, was proud of his boss for seeking help for what the senator’s office and his doctor had said was a case of clinical depression. His six weeks of inpatient care had been the latest medical setback for the Pennsylvania Democrat, who had had a stroke mere months before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2022, nearly derailing his campaign against Republican Mehmet Oz. But a year after his release from the hospital, Fetterman’s behavior had so alarmed Jentleson that he resigned his position. In May 2024, he wrote an urgent letter to David Williamson, the medical director of the traumatic-brain-injury and neuropsychiatry unit at Walter Reed, who had overseen Fetterman’s care at the hospital. “I think John is on a bad trajectory and I’m really worried about him,” the email began. If things didn’t change, Jentleson continued, he was concerned Fetterman “won’t be with us for much longer.”
His 1,600-word email came with the subject line “concerns,” and it contained a list of them, from the seemingly mundane (“He eats fast food multiple times a day”) to the scary (“We do not know if he is taking his meds and his behavior frequently suggests he is not”). “We often see the kind of warning signs we discussed,” Jentleson wrote. “Conspiratorial thinking; megalomania (for example, he claims to be the most knowledgeable source on Israel and Gaza around but his sources are just what he reads in the news — he declines most briefings and never reads memos); high highs and low lows; long, rambling, repetitive and self centered monologues; lying in ways that are painfully, awkwardly obvious to everyone in the room.”
Fetterman was, according to Jentleson, avoiding the regular checkups advised by his doctors. He was preoccupied with the social-media platform X, which he’d previously admitted had been a major “accelerant” of his depression. He drove his car so “recklessly,” Jentleson said, that staff refused to ride with him. He had also bought a gun. “He says he has a biometric safe and takes all the necessary precautions, and living where he does I understand the desire for personal protection,” Jentleson wrote, referring to Fetterman’s rough-and-tumble town of Braddock, Pennsylvania. “But this is one of the things you said to flag, so I am flagging.”
Another red flag, Jentleson added: “Every person who was supposed to help him stay on his recovery plan has been pushed out.” Fetterman was isolated, had “damaged personal relationships,” and was shedding staff. The turmoil in his office continued over the following year. Since winning election in 2022, he has lost his closest advisers, including three of his top spokespeople, his legislative director, and Jentleson. His circle of trust has shrunk, and people I spoke with made it clear that they expect more staffers to depart.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/john-fetterman-struggle-mental-health-clinical-depression.html
Whoa, this article is very eye-opening and concerning.
= new reply since forum marked as read
I fear he will fully self-destruct. Maybe the publication of this article will cause him to face his issues... 
I was a huge supporter of Big John and chatted him up with friends and neighbors.
I was amazed at how he came back from a serious stroke, won the election and was upfront about his bouts of depression. Living in Delco at the time, I thought he was a perfect fit for the working-class angst of the moment. He spoke the language of my neighbors; he looked and sounded like them and was passionate about their concerns regarding, jobs, salary, housing, etc. Most, not all, loved his brashness, humor, his unflagging support of unions, reproductive freedom, even weed.
I don't have a subscription to the mag but the red flags listed are just that, flashing neon lights. Fetterman's trip to Mar-a-Lago was mystifying, even infuriating for most Dems. His repeated scolding of the Democratic Party is equally so. I'd read the man had lost his long-loyal staff and his offices locally and in DC were in a constant state of chaos.
In a world of depressing things, this is just another item to add to the pile.
@razzball.bsky.social
John Fetterman arguing with a commercial airline pilot about wearing his seat belt feels like a perfect encapsulation of why people hate politicians
May 2, 2025 at 11:39 AM
https://bsky.app/profile/razzball.bsky.social/post/3lo75umkvv22b
Maybe a litmus test for future candidates should be the ability to politely sit in their seats and follow instructions?
