A Republican group cozies up to John Fetterman in new ad as his relationship with Dems becomes more strained

A conservative super PAC is urging Sen. John Fetterman to support President Donald Trump’s tax cut plan in a new ad wooing the Pennsylvania Democrat as his relationship with his own party has become increasingly strained.

In the spot called “Stand out,” running on cable and digital platforms, Club for Growth praises Fetterman and then urges Pennsylvanians to ask him to back the GOP-supported Trump tax cuts.

“He’s standing up for every working family in Pennsylvania,” the ad says, cutting to a quote of Fetterman saying he is a “senator for everyone.”

“And everyone in Pennsylvania will benefit if Fetterman helps extend and expand Trump’s tax cuts,” the ad says. “Tell him keep fighting for Pennsylvania, extend and expand Trump’s tax cuts.”

The ad comes as Fetterman has faced renewed scrutiny after former staffers raised concerns about ongoing mental health challenges following a 2022 stroke and 2023 treatment for depression. Former staffers have also questioned whether Fetterman is fully doing the job of a U.S. senator.

Fetterman has said he is in good health and has rejected anonymous criticism from former employees.

But the ad also shows that Republicans see an opportunity with Fetterman, who has met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago and has criticized members of his own party whom he disagrees with over a variety of issues.

Fetterman won every county in the state during the Democratic primary for Senate in 2022 and the momentum carried into fundraising where he was one of the most prolific small dollar fundraisers in the state.

That money has significantly dried up, recent campaign finance reports show, without an election until 2028 and as some longtime backers have grown frustrated with some of his stances.

Fetterman has rankled some Democrats in recent months for unequivocal support for Israel in its war in Gaza and his vote to support Attorney General Pam Bondi, who worked with Trump to question the outcome of Pennsylvania’s 2020 election.

Republicans have applauded those same moments. And last week, several Republicans mounted a forceful and unprompted defense of Fetterman.

“He is authentic, decent, principled, and a fighter,” Sen. Dave McCormick (R., Pa.) wrote on X. “These disgraceful smears against him are not the John that I know and respect.”

Few Democrats have taken the initiative to speak out in defense of Fetterman but when asked directly about him, they have mostly defended him.

At a town hall in Bucks County on Saturday, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D., Ariz), a Marine veteran who served in Iraq, said he has suffered from PTSD and relates to Fetterman’s mental health struggles.

“I trust he’s trying to do the best he can for himself, for his family, and for the state. And I’m going to continue to trust that,” Gallego said.

Pennsylvania Democratic Party chair Sharif Street said Fetterman was “perfectly capable of assessing his own health situation.”

And Street, a state senator from Philadelphia, noted that voters backed Fetterman as he was in the throes of recovering from a stroke in a moment when he became a model for many people who have gone through significant health challenges.

“Pennsylvanians understood that Sen. Fetterman had some major health issues when they elected him. It was no secret. They didn’t cover it up,” Street said. “We didn’t vote for John Fetterman because he was perfect. We voted for him because he succeeded despite his imperfections,” Street said.

State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, now a Democratic National Committee vice chair who ran against Fetterman in the 2022 primary said “on many things” Fetterman has been a solid Democratic vote. He declined to weigh in on reports about his health or job abilities.

“John, his family, his staff, they see him on a daily basis, and they can speak with a level of credibility about these stories,” Kenyatta said. “I can’t really add anything to what has been reported.”

Fetterman’s former chief of staff had said in a memo to his doctor that the Pennsylvania Democrat’s relationships with colleagues had deteriorated. Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.), the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, told The Hill that Fetterman has made infrequent appearances at party caucus meetings.

“It’s a limited relationship. John doesn’t spend much time on the floor, for obvious reasons,” Durbin said in the report published Monday, noting Fetterman’s decision to flout Senate floor dress rules. “He’s chosen to dress in a manner that’s inconsistent with the Senate rules and [made] limited appearances within the caucus. So I’ve not developed a relationship with him, which I usually do.”

As for Trump’s tax cuts, Fetterman’s office did not respond to a request from The Inquirer seeking comment. But heeding Club for Growth’s wish to back the tax cuts would be somewhat out of character, even for a senator who has shown a more independent streak.

He voted against the budget blueprint for the package now under debate in Congress, which would include an extension of Trump’s tax cuts. Fettermansaid in a statement to The Inquirer and other outlets that he continues to oppose that effort.

“I’ll always fight for working families in Pennsylvania, but this bill would gut essential services like Medicare, Medicaid and SNAP that Pennsylvanians depend on — all to give tax cuts to the ultra rich,” he said in the statement. “I can never support hurting hardworking Pennsylvania families to put more money in the pockets of billionaires and the top 1 percent.”

Trump has called to extend the 2017 tax cuts, noting that on average almost every income group would get some tax relief. Democrats have noted that not everyone would and that the cuts skew in favor of wealthy Americans.