Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.), fresh off his victory Nov. 8, 2022 over former TV celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz, was admitted to Walter Reed Medical Center to treat his battle with clinical depression. Fetterman, who suffered a life-threatening stroke May 17, 2022 leaving him with severe auditory impairments leaving him dependent on close-captioning to communicate, said nothing about his clinical depression that also plagued his highly partisan campaign. Pennsylvania’s Democrat Party participated in the cover-up of Fetterman’s true medical picture, hiding that he suffered from clinical depression for years. How that news would have affected Pennsylvania voters is anyone’s guess. Maybe Pennsylvania voters don’t care about elected officials fitness to serve, only about politics. Whatever voters would have done Nov. 8, 2022 with news about Fetterman’s depression, they’ll never got to decide.
Hospitalizing someone for depression either means he’s receiving some draconic procedure like Electro Convulsive Shock Treatment [ECT] or that he’s had suicidal thoughts, now becoming a danger to himself. Most people know that routine treatment for clinical depression does not involve hospitalization. Patients suffering from depression routinely go to primary care physicians for medication or to psychiatrists for more specialized psychoactive medications. “On Monday, John was evaluated by Dr. Brian P. Monahad, the Attending Physician of the United States Congress. Yesterday, Dr. Monahan recommended inpatient care at Walter Reed. John agreed, and he is receiving treatment on a voluntary basis,” said John Jentleson, Feterrman’s Chief of Staff. So, despite admitting that Fetterman now goes for inpatient treatment for depression, the public remains in the dark.
Jettleson doesn’t go into any more detail why Fetterman requires inpatient treatment, rather than the conventional route of outpatient treatment. Doctors at Walter Reed “told us that John is getting the care he needs, and will be soon back to himself,” Jettleson said. “I stand by John Fetterman and his family. This is a challenge, an unimaginable challenge, that he has faced in life. He deserves the very best in professional care and I’m sure he’ll get it a Walter Reed,” said Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). Durbin repeats the same Democrat talking points during the 2022 campaign, “unimaginable challenge,” referring before to Fetterman’s stroke. Now Durbin admits Fetterman suffers from life-long depression. Where was that disclosure during the campaign against Oz? How much more deceptive is the Democrat Party to hide a material fact from voters?
When you think the Democrat Party ran a disabled candidate and hid the fact he also has a history of clinical depression, it’s hard to believe Durbin needs to get so dramatic in his statement. When Durbin refers to an “unimaginable challenge,” what information does he have that’s not available to the public? Most depressions today are treated with any number of antidepressant medications, routinely prescribed by primary care doctors and psychiatrists. “I believe with proper care, which he well receive, that he’ll be back in our ranks, joining us soon,” Durbin said. Durbin has no clue how Fetterman will do with any treatments, nor does he know what Walter Reed’s psychiatry department has in mind. It’s doubtful, with HIPAA privacy laws that the public will ever know what treatment Fetterman gets. Durbin certainly acts like Fetterman’s in for an “unimaginable challenge.”
Last week after the State of the Union Speech, Fetterman complained about “lightheadedness.,” admitted into a hospital for observation and testing. He was released a few days later saying the findings showed no seizure or renewed stroke. After Fetterman’s stroke in May, he had a pacemaker installed, indicating, if nothing else, that his irregular heartbeat could have triggered his stroke. Democrat strategist minimized his post-stroke recovery during the campaign, blaming Oz for making it a campaign issue. Durbin certainly offered more information than anyone, including Fetterman’s Chief of Staff, Adam Jentleson, say that Fetterman’s faced depression in his life. But why was this the first time voters heard anything about depression, only hearing about Fetterman’s stroke and slow recovery? Going to Walter Reed as an inpatient means that Fetterman’s depression is not a mild case.
Fetterman’s case speaks volumes about how political parties withhold pertinent facts about candidates that could inform voters’ decisions on Election Day. Fetterman’s campaign certainly withheld from voters essential information about the candidates medical history. Not hearing of clinical depression until Jentleson announced he was admitted to Walter Reed makes a fool of the public that counts on Fetterman to represent his state in the U.S. Senate. When Fettrman’s doctors said he was fit for duty before the election, why didn’t they mention anything about his history of clinical depression? Fetterman did everything possible with his Democrat handlers to deceive the public into thinking he was fit for duty. Not only do his post-stroke medical issues impair his fitness for duty in the U.S. Senate but his history of depression complicates the picture. All the secrecy and deception duped Pennsylvania voters.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
