Senator John Fetterman has mocked recent comments by Senator JD Vance that the left needs to tone down its rhetoric, saying of the Republican vice presidential candidate, “no one’s really listening to him anymore.”
During a Sunday appearance on NBC‘s Meet the Press, the Pennsylvania Democrat was asked by host Kristen Welker to respond to the Ohio Senator’s recent assertion that Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris, bore responsibility for assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump.
“I don’t know who is actually listening to what Vance says” Fetterman replied. “It’s been months already; no one’s really listening to him anymore.”
Fetterman went on to criticize Vance, stating, “He has developed a kind of reputation to say dumb things, pointless things and offend everybody. And he’s been picked as the most unpopular pick in history,” Fetterman said. “But no one’s listening to him. I’m certainly not.”
Newsweek has contacted the Trump/Vance campaign via email for comment.
Senator John Fetterman, left, and Senator JD Vance. Fetterman mocked recent comments by Vance that the left needs to tone down its rhetoric, saying “no one’s really listening to him anymore.”
Tom Williams and Sean Simmers/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Fetterman’s remarks came after Vance, Trump’s running mate, suggested in a social media post that the suspect in a recent assassination attempt against Trump had been inspired by rhetoric from Harris and other Democrats.
The suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, had camped outside Trump’s Florida golf club before being apprehended by Secret Service agents. Routh’s social media activity indicated a past vote for Trump, but his more recent posts expressed disdain for the former president. Routh has been charged with two gun offences.
Vance argued that Democrats and the media were exhibiting a “double standard” in their coverage of the incident, claiming that if a Republican donor had attempted to kill a Democratic official, the reaction would have been far more critical.
He accused Harris’ surrogates of using dangerous rhetoric, citing a 2023 statement by New York Representative Dan Goldman that Trump “has to be eliminated.”
Fetterman swiftly dismissed Vance’s criticisms as baseless. “That’s absolutely absurd,” he said in the interview.
“Every Democrat condemned the assassination attempts, and I did as well.” He added that it was time to move away from empty rhetoric and focus on more substantial issues.
“Let’s just have a serious conversation about this election, not talking about that kind of empty rhetoric from somebody like JD Vance,” Fetterman said.
Vance, who has become known for his outspoken and inflammatory comments, has repeatedly made headlines for his controversial statements about women and children, as well as for his strong involvement with Project 2025, a controversial proposed policy document by The Heritage Foundation, which the Trump campaign has attempted to distance itself from.
In his recent posts, he also promoted claims about Haitian immigrants, his own constituents, abducting and eating pets in Springfield, Ohio—claims that have been debunked by the people who started the rumors. He continues to stand by the claim.
Vance has consistently received negative net approval in polls since Trump announced him as his running mate.
