The mental health of Democratic Senator John Fetterman is under scrutiny again after reports surfaced of an outburst during a meeting with union officials.
Concretely, The Associated Press detailed that the episode took place last week as Fetterman met with representatives from a Pennsylvania teachers union. The senator began shouting and questioning why "everybody is mad at me" before slamming his hands on a desk and asking "why does everyone hate me, what did I ever do."
Another witness of the episode recalled that a staffer quickly ended the meeting, escorting officials into a hallway before breaking down crying. The woman was comforted by union officials who were also rattled by the incident.
The report comes days after a New York Magazine feature that included multiple testimonies from former staff and advisers outlining their own concerns about Fetterman. The piece included a letter from former chief of staff Adam Jentleson, who told a neuropsychiatrist who had treated Fetterman for depression that he appeared to be off his recovery plan, detailing "long, rambling, repetitive and self-centered monologues."
"Former and current staffers paint a picture of an erratic senator who has become almost impossible to work for, and whose mental health situation is more serious and complicated than previously reported. No one is saying every issue (say, his respectful relationship with Trump) stems from his mental health—but it's become harder to tell which ones do," reads a preview of the piece.
Since winning in 2022, John Fetterman has lost his closest advisers, including three of his top spokespeople, his legislative director, and his chief of staff.
— New York Magazine (@NYMag) May 2, 2025
Former and current staffers paint a picture of an erratic senator who has become almost impossible to work for, and… pic.twitter.com/0p91zEdTSq
"Fetterman's staffers, his truest believers, now question his fitness to be a senator. They worry he may present a danger to the Democratic Party and maybe even to himself," it adds.
Fetterman dismissed the piece as a "one-source hit piece and some anonymous sources," adding that there are no people concerned about his mental health. Regarding the outburst at the union meeting, the senator said in a statement that they "had a spirited conversation about our collective frustration with the Trump administration's cuts to our education system."
Fetterman survived a stroke on the 2022 campaign trail, which, he said, almost killed him. He also went through depression after being elected. He was hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for six months just weeks after being sworn in. Last November he hold podcaster Joe Rogan that he no longer thought about harming himse.f.
"I was at the point where I was really, you know, in a very dark place. And I stayed in that game and I am staying in front of you right now and having this conversation," he said.
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