A controversial months-old clip of Sen. John Fetterman is circulating on social media just hours after New York Magazine ran a worrisome report on the Pennsylvania Democrat, Newsweek reported on Saturday.
New York Magazine’s Intelligencer published a report Friday in which Fetterman’s current and previous staffers shared details about his alleged mental decline.
One of the incidents mentioned in the report involved a February video of the senator arguing with a pilot before a flight to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Independent journalist Nick Sortor was one of many who shared the clip to the social media platform X.
🚨 WTF?! Sen. John Fetterman was caught on video BLOCKING his flight to Pittsburgh from taking off because he wanted to argue with the pilot about having to wear a seatbelt
Is he drunk? Or just an entitled slob?
“Rules for thee, but not for me” are the words Democrats live by. pic.twitter.com/uhKu04jPfC
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) May 2, 2025
The footage appeared to show the back of Fetterman’s head as he argued about wearing a seat belt.
The pilot said, per federal regulations, that all passengers’ seat belts must be visible to the flight crew.
Fetterman’s apparently was not visible, yet he insisted that he had it on.
Is Fetterman mentally fit for his position?
“If your seat belt’s on, it just has to be visible, and right now it’s not visible,” the pilot said.
The pilot even offered Fetterman an extender.
“It will make it bigger, so it can go outside of your sweatshirt. Would that work?” the pilot said.
Fetterman’s response was inaudible, but evidently he continued arguing because the pilot then gave him an ultimatum.
“Sir, if you want to go to Pittsburgh, it’s simple,” the pilot said. “You have to follow our instructions or you’re going to be asked to get off the airplane.”
Sortor’s Friday video of the incident picked up 1.4 million views as of Saturday afternoon.
“WTF?! Sen. John Fetterman was caught on video BLOCKING his flight to Pittsburgh from taking off because he wanted to argue with the pilot about having to wear a seatbelt Is he drunk? Or just an entitled slob? ‘Rules for thee, but not for me’ are the words Democrats live by,” Sortor’s post read.
Fetterman had suffered a stroke in 2022, just days before winning the Democratic primary election for Pennsylvania senator during the midterms.
Yet despite his victory, Fetterman’s mental decline was evident during his debate with Republican opponent Dr. Mehmet Oz.
BREAKING: Tonight, Fetterman and Dr. Oz went head-to-head in the first and only #PASenDebate.
Fetterman struggled to make his way through a sentence.
Here’s the highlight reel:
Via @thaleigha_ & @AndrewStilesUSA https://t.co/czykmvPcsa pic.twitter.com/UdShCGXujK
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) October 26, 2022
In the Intelligencer report, Fetterman denied his staffers’ claims about his allegedly declining cognitive health.
“I’m just going to say that it’s disgruntled employees saying things that are either untrue or, so, that’s kind of the business that we are in,” Fetterman reportedly said.
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