Fetterman tells Fox host he didn’t see the entire Trump-Biden debate

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.) said Wednesday that he only watched parts of last month’s debate between former President Trump and President Biden, but believes the current president has the “best opportunity” to defeat the former president.

Fox News host Jesse Watters, speaking to Fetterman, asked the senator, “You saw the debate, just like we all saw the debate, and that didn’t change your mind?”

“I saw parts of it; I was actually coming back from Israel at that time,” Fetterman responded. “And then when I got there, I started getting some of the texts, and at that point I realized I really wanted to get on social media and defend our president after this.”

When Watters asked again if he had watched the entire debate, Fetterman said, “I haven’t. I saw… maybe the harder ones, of course.”

“But for me, and I know a lot of people who normally watch Fox, they realize that Donald Trump may have had a great day and a great debate about this,” Fetterman said. “But what I… would like to remind people is that some people thought that Donald Trump didn’t have some of the kinds of difficulties that maybe Joe Biden [had]but he was saying things that weren’t true, or he was saying things that really, I think, aren’t really consistent with some of most people’s values.”

Biden’s debate performance against Trump last month raised concerns within the Democratic Party about his ability to defeat the former president and serve another term.

Fetterman has been a vocal supporter of the president amid the fallout, and just before his interview with Watters, he told CNN that he strongly disagreed with Sen. Peter Welch (D.V.t.), who became the first Senate Democrat to publicly call for Biden’s withdrawal. of the presidential race.

Nine House Democrats have publicly urged Biden to step aside from the 2024 race, including Reps. Lloyd Doggett (Texas), Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.), Seth Moulton (Mass.), Mike Quigley (Ill.), Angie Craig (Minn.) ), Mikie Sherrill (NJ), Adam Smith (Wash.), Pat Ryan (NY) and Earl Blumenauer (Ore.).

Senate Democrats expressed their doubts about Biden’s ability to defeat Trump in a closed-door meeting at the Capitol on Tuesday. Several senators leaving Tuesday’s meeting said Biden’s strong determination to remain at the top of the ticket had settled the debate for now.

Biden has rejected calls to drop out and insists he will remain in the race. He asked congressional Democrats in a letter Monday to unite behind his candidacy.

Fetterman highlighted his own experiences with Biden, who he said was “normal” and “engaged” at campaign events last year.

“So I really want to remind everyone that Joe Biden has done a great job as president and, fundamentally, I will remain loyal to that,” he said.

Three of Biden’s top political advisers are scheduled to meet with Senate Democrats on Thursday to hear their concerns about Biden’s viability as a candidate.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story