Obama praises Fetterman’s authenticity, which “doesn’t always apply” to GOP

Former President Barack Obama praised Pennsylvania senatorial candidate John Fetterman in a political podcast teaser Friday, adding a jab at Republicans during the two-minute clip.

In the video snippet for the next episode of Pod Save America, a political commentary series hosted by four former aides to Obama, the 44th president discussed why he thought Fetterman, the Democrat in a key Senate race, was a great candidate.

“The thing I love about Fetterman, and you see it in a lot of our other candidates, is you feel as if when you’re talking to them that you’re having a normal conversation and they have some sense of how the rest of America lives,” Obama said.

The former president went on to describe Fetterman as someone you could sit down at a diner with to discuss “whatever issues came to mind.”

“You might not agree with everything he said, but you’d feel as if he had a point of view that was informed by his real-life experiences, that he was honest about what he believed, that he’d be open to potentially changing his mind if you made a good argument,” Obama continued.

“Why it is that those qualities don’t seem to always apply to successful Republican candidates, what’s going on there, I don’t know exactly.”

The former president also took a swipe at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, saying that the Republican still attracts voters “even if I’m not sure if they would really have a great time” breaking bread with him at a diner.

According to a tweet from Pod Save America, the full interview with Obama will be posted Saturday.

Obama’s praises were posted the same day Fetterman held a rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, where the Senate hopeful was also praised by the city’s mayor, according to a report from The Tribune-Democrat.

“We got a person here in Fetterman that knows what the hell we’re going through,” Johnstown Mayor Frank Janakovic said during Fetterman’s rally. “We know that John will fight for Johnstown when he’s in the Senate because he’s a leader.”

According to The Tribune-Democrat, Fetterman made several parallels between Johnstown and the city of Braddock, Pennsylvania, where Fetterman served as mayor from 2006 to 2019 before being elected lieutenant governor.

Fetterman also used his experience as mayor of Braddock in a slight against his Republican opponent, Dr. Mehmet Oz, reported the newspaper. Oz, a celebrity doctor and former longtime resident of New Jersey, moved to a Pennsylvania suburb in late 2020.

“Do you honestly think Dr. Oz would want to raise his family in Johnstown?” Fetterman asked. “I’d be proud to be here. I picked Braddock, Pennsylvania. He picked New Jersey. Do you honestly think Dr. Oz really understands what your lives are like living in Johnstown?”

Fetterman has also recently gained attention after using closed-captioning software in an interview this week on NBC News. He’s been battling auditory processing delays since suffering a life-altering stroke in May, leading to many questions about his ability to hold office.

Fetterman is scheduled to debate Oz on October 25.

Newsweek has reached out to Fetterman’s campaign for comment.