One of the Democrats’ lone voices of sanity, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, admits that, in hindsight, he “should’ve quit” his Senate bid back in 2022. He went on to open up about whether he sees a future with the party that has become obsessed with appeasing the radicals.
A personal battle raging inside someone often stays behind the scenes, and we really don’t know what a person is going through. That is definitely the case for Fetterman after he suffered a life-threatening stroke in 2022 while on the campaign trail, a massive depression in the aftermath, and a journey to find his way back from the darkness to his wife and three kids.
John Fetterman said he ‘should have quit’ Senate bid in an excerpt from his new book https://t.co/7szYqQbwIj
— The Philadelphia Inquirer (@PhillyInquirer) November 10, 2025
In a new excerpt in the Free Press from Fetterman’s upcoming memoir “Unfettered,” the Democrat reflects on the last three years and touches on whether he sees if he will have a place in the party – or if his time is up.
READ MORE: Watch: Fetterman Lets Loose on Dems for Not Opening Government, Absolutely Levels Schumer
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In the excerpt, Fetterman reflected on what happened when he was on the campaign trail in 2022, and when his wife, Gisele, noticed his mouth dropping and ordered his team to get him to the hospital right away.
After suffering a stroke, Fetterman was left with only the ability to communicate with voters using closed captioning. He admits that at this point, despite his positive polling numbers, “In hindsight, I should have quit.”
He also opened up about the toll the political attacks from his opponent, Republican candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz, and others in the media took on him during the campaign, fueling his depression that had followed him since he was young.
ALSO: Sen. Fetterman Shares Unapologetic Patriotic Fourth of July Post Torching His Party
One part that really stood out to me was when he talked about what happened after he won the election. Despite his victory, his depression kept feeding on him, before he was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for inpatient care.
It read:
This continued even after I was sworn in as a senator in January. I found a dark apartment in the basement of a building in Washington, and when I returned each night at around 5 p.m., I’d lock the door, lie on my thin mattress on the floor, and welcome the dark. In the morning, I’d wait until the last second to get dressed. Outside of going to work and coming home again, I didn’t have any routine. I had stopped listening to music long ago. I wasn’t even getting coffee in the morning.
By February, I wasn’t eating, and I wouldn’t talk to anybody.
Fetterman wrote that not long after that, he went to the hospital and doctors diagnosed him with severe depression. On February 12, 2023, he was admitted to Walter Reed.
In another part, he opens up about the mental health professional who said the four words he needed to hear to get out of the darkness and back to his family. Those four words, “Children need their daddy.”
After positive visits with his family and ongoing work on his mental health, three weeks later, he finally went home.
Fetterman then opened up about the current political landscape and how, despite being a moderate, he’s still here, to the chagrin of many. But he acknowledges he’s not sure for how much longer.
He wrote:
I have never viewed my political party as an iron shackle adhering me to the party line. And I don’t take positions for my own self-interest. I take positions based on what I believe is right. I know this has cost me support from a significant part of my base, and I’m well aware that it may cost me my seat. I’m completely at peace with that.
I will be the first to admit that when I became aware of soon-to-be sworn-in Fetterman, I was not impressed with the sweats-wearing Democrat who could barely speak after suffering a stroke, whom the state had voted for overwhelmingly.
However, I have done an about-face on the man who has become one of the rare Democrat leaders who celebrate patriotism and isn’t afraid to speak out against his party. Examples abound, starting with his overwhelming support for Israel, backing many of the common-sense moves by President Donald Trump, and most recently, blasting those in his own party for shutting down the government just to try to appease the radicals.
Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.
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