Fetterman: Democratic Party Is Viewed as Toxic Because ‘Their Primary Currency Was Shaming and Scolding and Talking Down to People’

PALMERI: “Why is the Democratic Party viewed as toxic by so many? Like, even people inside the party acknowledge that.”

Fetterman: “I think their primary currency was shaming and scolding and talking down to people and telling them hey, I know better than you, or you’re dopes, or you’re a bro, or you’re ignorant or, you know, don’t you, you know, how can you be this dumb? I can’t imagine it. Like — and then by the way, they’re, they’re fascists. How can you vote for that? And you know, when you’re in a state like Pennsylvania, like, I know and I love people that voted for Trump and they’re not fascist. You know, they don’t support insurrection and those things. And, you know, if you go to an extreme and you become a boutique kind of a proposition, then you’re going to lose the — you’re going to lose the argument. And we have done that. When I show up at, like, a working site, I can all but guarantee you, you know, if they’re politically engaged, you know, who they vote for, why they would vote there. And they just think, they want to identify with people who seem to be looking out for me or for me. I described the ‘24 election was not about obscure kinds of policies. It’s a gut check kind of vote, and they are going to ask themselves who is going to protect or project my personal view of the American way of life and who’s the better match for what I believe is the American way of life. And I’m going to vote for that person. And that’s why I think Trump won. And then, like, for example, you know, the new leadership of the DNC. The vice chair, you know, abolish ICE, and now the other thing saying, you know, defund the police and those things, you know, I’m concerned that we really haven’t paid attention on what happened and have we — have we looked up at the scoreboard and been like, oh, by the way, we’ve lost.”

PALMERI: “How do Democrats win back white men like yourself?”

Fetterman: “I don’t know. And truthfully, I’m not sure. I’m not sure if that’s possible, to be honest. I think that’s been seriously eroding for a while. And in some cases, in the conversations I’ve had, a lot of people, they don’t even want to say it publicly, but they just feel like, you know, the other side seems like it’s — it’s like men. Well, the men’s the problem. Men are to blame or their masculinity is toxic. Or if — unless you’re able to conform to our very strict kinds of definition of what we think is appropriate, well then, hey, I’m just, I’m going to find an alternative. And they’ve, they’ve done that. That’s absolutely true. And once we’ve kind of turned their back on that demographic, it’s going to be difficult to rebuild and replace that with those voters, because I think that migration has been ongoing phenomenon for several years and that has been in front and center, you know, in part of the election in ‘24.”