Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman called a New York Magazine report regarding his health a “hit piece,” but wouldn’t say if he’s taking his medications, one of the claims made against him in the article.
“It’s a one-source story, with a couple of anonymous sources, hit piece from a very left publication. There’s really nothing more to say about that,” he told NBC News.
Asked if he was taking his medications, Fetterman said, “Again, a hit piece, anonymous sources.”
The senator has rejected allegations that health issues make him unfit to serve in the upper chamber, telling CNN that he would serve out his term in office.
Speaking to the network from his Senate office, Fetterman talked about his depression treatment, saying that he’s adhering to a strict program put together by his doctors.
He dismissed claims from the New York Magazine report that he has been reckless and erratic. In comments to CNN, he said, “It’s a one-source hit piece, and it involved maybe two or three and anonymous disgruntled staffers saying just absolute false things.”
Fetterman has previously been open about being treated for clinical depression and how his 2022 Senate race negatively impacted his mental health.
New York Magazine reported that former Fetterman Chief of Staff Adam Jentleson and ex-staffers said the senator “has become almost impossible to work for.”
In May 2024, Jentleson sent a 1,600-word email to the medical director at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center who had overseen Fetterman’s care after he was admitted in 2023.
“I think John is on a bad trajectory and I’m really worried about him,” he wrote, according to the magazine. He added that if there was no change, he was worried Fetterman “won’t be with us for much longer.”
“We do not know if he is taking his meds and his behavior frequently suggests he is not,” Jentleson went on.
“We often see the kind of warning signs we discussed,” he told the medical director. “Conspiratorial thinking; megalomania (for example, he claims to be the most knowledgeable source on Israel and Gaza around but his sources are just what he reads in the news — he declines most briefings and never reads memos); high highs and low lows; long, rambling, repetitive and self centered monologues; lying in ways that are painfully, awkwardly obvious to everyone in the room.”
Jentleson said Fetterman was avoiding regular check-ins advised by his physicians.
Fetterman grew “catatonic” during a meeting with former Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown before he was admitted to Walter Reed in 2023, according to the magazine.
“He could barely string two sentences together, talking so quietly that everyone in the room had to strain to hear him. Fetterman then stood up and began walking around the office in tight loops,” New York Magazine Washington correspondent Ben Terris writes.
This comes amid significant interest in challenging the centrist senator in a primary, and with some Democrats advocating for increased medical transparency following former President Joe Biden’s departure from the 2024 presidential race amid questions about his fitness to serve.
Some political commentators have called on the senator to resign.
Fetterman said he has no other mental health problems other than those he has previously shared publicly, saying that it’s “outrageous” to suggest that he does.
“My doctors have confirmed that that is not the case,” he told CNN.
“I’ve been very front and center about my … depression, absolutely none of these other things, and it’s like so someone that was trying to accumulate my medical records and leak those things that’s part of this weird grudge for this hit piece,” he added.
Fetterman checked himself into Walter Reed in 2023 to be treated for clinical depression. The year before, he suffered a stroke while running for Senate.
The New York Magazine report outlined allegations, both on the record and anonymous, that Fetterman may not be taking his medications, claims he has rejected.
The senator said his doctors believe he’s “great,” adding that he’s been attending regular check-ins and adhering to his wellness program.
“It’s incredibly invasive. And why are people talking about anyone’s personal medical things? It’s that, you know, I think most people would agree that’s really, really invasive,” said Fetterman.
Jentleson told New York Magazine that he was taking his concerns public out of fear for Fetterman’s health and for his staff. On Tuesday, Fetterman told CNN that Jentleson has a “weird grudge.”
“If you’re really concerned about someone, you could say, ‘Hey, let’s sit down. Can we talk?’ It’s not … like going to the media,” he told the network.
“I stand by what I said, and I hope he gets the help he needs,” Jentleson told CNN.
The Independent has reached out to Fetterman’s office for comment.
