Salena Zito: John Fetterman plays against type

A talk show that's real. This is the Brian Kilmeade show. The unlikely voice of reason on the back end of 2023 being John Fetterman was certainly not on my end of the year bingo card. I am pleasantly surprised, but I have to say this. A lot of folks are saying that he's sounding like a conservative or he's sounding like a Republican.

I don't think so. I think he's sounding like a moderate Democrat or maybe just a good American. Tomi Lahren reflecting on what Senator Fetterman sounding a little like Joe Manchin, where at the border they both admit like Joe Manchin, Democrats, the border is an absolute mess, not acceptable, that Israel needs to be supported. No breaking point that Senator Menendez is as corrupt as George Santos, if not worse, and just mocking him, the fact that he's still there. Just some of the things that shocked me anyway, and I'm happy for Senator Fetterman as a person that he seems to be on the upside after that stroke. Selena Zito is a nationally syndicated columnist, often critical of Fetterman as a candidate.

How does she feel now after doing a column on him and getting a chance to talk to him? Selena Zito joins us now. Selena, welcome back. Good morning.

Thanks so much for having me on. Yeah. So tell me about the John Fetterman you knew and the one you now observe and see. So if listeners don't know, I live in western Pennsylvania, so it was covering national politics. And so I've covered John Fetterman since 2005 when he won the mayor's race for Braddock by one absentee ballot. So, you know, he's always been sort of this interesting character. And for years, as I covered him, he was never sort of anybody's guy, right? He wasn't the Democrats guy. He wasn't the progressives guy. He was all over the place and very reflective and also very reminiscent of the old-fashioned moderate Democrats.

He was socially left on other things, but center on many other things too, just on fracking and manufacturing alone and heavy regulations impact on those industries. But when he had his stroke and now we know, as he has told us and detailed, he was suffering from depression. His message wasn't really the John Fetterman I had known. And so I had been very harsh on him regarding transparency during the election in 2022, not personally, but on transparency.

But as he sort of, you know, in January of last year admitted to depression, admitted himself, and over the course of time in that past year has started to regain his sense of self and sense of who he was and who he is. I'm seeing the Fetterman that I knew for 20 years re-emerge as a center-left moderate Democrat that he had been for 20 years. So I want you to hear Selena Zito also observing like me, listen, I don't care what party you are. I want to do things that are good for the country. It seems like Fetterman's doing good things for his country and he's in a very purple state and a lot of people think that McCormick could pick up that seat. I want to talk to you about that, the other seat against Casey will be tough and that there's a lot of Republicans there. They're not happy with Joe Biden.

Here's Senator Fetterman on TikTok. You've been very vocal in your full support for Israel. I see the Israeli flag behind you in your office there. You've been very clearly arguing that Hamas bears responsibility for the tragedy of what's going on in Gaza. Why do you think so many younger people, especially in your party, see it differently?

I really don't know. I do know that a lot of people are getting their perspective from TikTok and I think if you're kind of getting your perspective on the world on TikTok, it's going to tend to be kind of warped or not reflective of the history and actually the way things absolutely are. And what is very clear is that Hamas started this and they actually broke the ceasefire and they attacked and murdered babies, children, women, attacked a music concert and everything. It's outrageous. Of course, you know, you can't get a Democrat to admit that TikTok should be banned.

We know that it should be, but they want to use it for the election. So that's pretty amazing, don't you think? Yeah, absolutely. So here's the thing people don't know about Fetterman. He has always been very politically astute. In 2016, in an interview with me, you know, we were I think we were in Erie or and he said, you know, people don't understand this, but Trump could win our state. So he understood that. And a lot of Democrats were really mad at him for saying that. But he was obviously he wasn't wrong. He's also very politically astute in in when he ran for lieutenant governor and for the first time in history up ended a sitting lieutenant governor in a primary.

How did he do it, though? When he ran, did he run as a moderate? He ran.

He's always been all over the place. Yeah. If you were if you were putting him on a scale, I would say he was moderate.

Wow. And that's how he ran. And I think the thing that people don't understand in Pennsylvania, there's a couple of things going on that's sort of pretty granular but important in Allegheny County, which is where he lives, the first and only district attorney to run and win against the Soros Fund district attorney happening in his home county. You know, you know, so I'm sure he's looking around and saying, you know, my my my state is is pretty moderate. It's it's not far left and it's not far right. And and so I'm going to, you know, pay attention as to where my positions fall.

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That's Cozy Earth dot com code Brian. We're talking to Selena Zito. Would you say conservative columnist or just nationally syndicated consultant? Would you call yourself a conservative? Yeah, just a columnist. I cover everybody. So here's Senator Fetterman on Senator Menendez, who I can't believe that we have not heard anything from Schumer, nothing from Cory Booker. You heard about this latest allegation for a five thousand dollar watch. He was going to say some nice things about Qatar. That's the accusation.

And also the gold bars were found in his closet. Here's what Fetterman said. If you expel somebody like, you know, George Santos, how can you allow somebody like, you know, Senator Menendez remain in the Senate as well, too? Because I promise you that one of the major differences between Representative former Representative Santos and Senator Menendez is three hundred million dollars of munitions, you know, with Egypt as well, too.

And Santos is never accused of being a foreign agent. Can you believe that? I mean, that sounds like Jim Jordan.

Well, you know, it's it's it's applying common sense to a problem. And that is what Fetterman has always been very good at doing. And and like I said, for years before he was the national spotlight, you can't imagine the amount of time he got in trouble with Democrats for for saying things that wasn't all that popular among, you know, Democratic orthodoxy.

So I'm not surprised. I wasn't sure who the John Fetterman of 2022 was, because he just didn't seem it just that message just did not seem like him. But I believe we have a return to the guy that I had been covering. And so I think what's happening right now is now people are seeing this on a national level and they're like, oh, if this is, you know, making remarks like this, the stroke do this to him.

No stroke didn't do this. And this is who he's always been. But you just didn't see his his service, his public service in in the way and under the microscope.

Selena, lastly, when we look at your state, Dave McCormick is really an impressive candidate on paper. And I actually met him in person. You know, he's got the West Point background, self-made multimillionaire. He also worked at Treasury under Hank Paulson. And he's also been at war. So he's got this rich experience. He does not need to work anymore. He is a Pennsylvania background.

He didn't say, you know, anyone has a problem with me. I'm divorced. I like to visit my kids in Connecticut. Guilty as charged. But he does live in Pennsylvania.

So what are your thoughts about because you're there. What are your thoughts about him against an established candidate like Casey? Well, the thing about him, by the way, it's just interesting that you mentioned McCormick, because I'm literally pulled off the side of the road and driving to spend a couple of days with him in Bloomsburg, where his family is from, where he grew up. But, you know, Casey has never faced a serious, well-funded candidate since he first ran in 2006.

And every year that he has won and every six years that he has won the Senate seat have always been very, very good years for Democrats. But you take those two instances and you combine them with McCormick's, his successes in his life. And this is going to be a battle royale. And I don't, here's what I don't predict will happen.

I don't think this will get personal. I think McCormick will stick with running on policy and running on issues. And that is also something you've never seen in any Republican that Casey has faced. And so, you know, Casey has only lost one race in his life. And that was when he ran in a primary race against Ed Rendell for governor in 2002. In that race, Casey was, it was a very personal race and he went very negative.

He's never done that again. And he lost that race. Nobody expected Casey to lose that race. Rendell lost and won that race. And so it'll be interesting to see how Casey adjusts to running against McCormick, who is going to be running on policy, policy, policy, policy and achievement. And so I think it's going to be a fascinating race and one I'm really excited to cover.

Right. And I guess, do you think Joe Biden's popularity will act thereof, will play a role? I think both Biden and Trump, if Trump is the eventual nominee, I think, and if Biden remains the Democrat nominee or incumbent president, I think both men will impact this race. It's hard to tell right now who has the more negative drag on the candidate. But I suspect at this moment, Biden is probably the worst problem for Casey over Trump being a problem for McCormick. From what you can tell, just from Selena Zito's point of view, is Trump, who won Pennsylvania, stronger in 2024 than he was in 2016 or not?

That's hard to tell right now, Brian. I see, I see a lot. So this is what I get from Trump supporters in my home state. They loved him when he was president.

They loved his policies. But there is a fracturing on personality, on his comportments. And that is sort of his biggest challenge. Conversely, though, Biden is shedding voters in my state faster than Trump's voters being hesitant. So I would give Trump an edge in Pennsylvania, but no matter what, no matter who wins Pennsylvania, it is going to be close. Trump won it by 41,000 votes in 2016. Biden won it by a little more in 2020.

It's just going to be very, very close. Selena, look forward to your column after spending considerable time with Dave McCormick. Selena Zito, thank you. Thank you. Thanks so much for having me. Listen to this show ad free on Fox News Podcast Plus, on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music with your prime membership, or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.