Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) raised eyebrows after appearing to struggle to make it through questioning during the Senate Banking Committee hearing.
On Tuesday, Fetterman struggled multiple times with his speech when asking whether they believe it is "a running joke" that the government will always bail out a bank when it fails.
"So, I went up on the Internet, and it's like, it did happen. It did happen. It did happen," Fetterman said, holding up a cutout of a New York Post headline titled "Ex-Silicon Valley Bank CEO Greg Becker jets to Hawaii after the collapse."
"And it's in Fortune, the second-biggest bank in U.S. history collapsed and chose to go to Hawaii on that," the senator continued. "You know, I've never been to Hawaii, and neither has my family. I guess I've never cranked, excuse me, crashed a bank."
The Internet took the time to mock Fetterman, questioning if he is mentally fit for the job.
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— Brian Doherty (@BDOH) May 16, 2023
He makes Kamala look intelligent. https://t.co/FpiqbrPxQl
— Suzanne Arundale (@ArundaleSuzanne) May 16, 2023
All I'm praying for is that he votes against the democrats by accident & causes a major problem 😆😆😆
— DrStarboard (@DrStarboard) May 16, 2023
An embarrassment to PA for sure, brought to you by your friends in the DEM PARTY. They dont even like you enough to rig it for a real Senator? C'mon Man....
— Dallas Texan (@MaitreDFW) May 17, 2023
However, in response, the Democrat's team defended Fetterman, saying they have been transparent for months that he will continue to have auditory processing issues due to the effects of his stroke.
"For many months, we have been clear and open about the fact that John still faces challenges with auditory processing challenges as a result of his stroke. His doctors expect his abilities to improve, but in the meantime, if pathetic losers want to make fun of someone who struggles with speech as the result of a stroke, that's up to them," Joe Calvello, communications director for Fetterman, told the Washington Examiner.
Fetterman was in the hospital from mid-February to mid-April this year, just after being sworn in as senator.