Just when Kamala Harris' brutal loss could not get any more humiliating, a senator from her own side is coming out and acknowledging that President-elect Donald Trump has never been stronger.
John Fetterman (D), of Pennsylvania, conceded the sobering reality that Trump is the "strongest that he's been" in the three election cycles since his upset in 2016.
Fetterman was elected in 2022 as a progressive, but he has since emerged as an occasional critic of the left.
While many Democrats have gone looking for scapegoats to explain the 2024 outcome, Fetterman had warned before the election that Trump was connecting with Pennsylvanians.
“I have already claimed that it’s going to be incredibly close, and I’ve also claimed that Trump is the strongest that he’s been in the three cycles there,” Fetterman told CNN's State of the Union.
Fetterman attributed Trump's win to support from Elon Musk and the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Trump shocked the world by dodging a bullet and then raising his fist in defiance.
Now, Trump is returning to D.C. with Republican majorities in both houses of Congress.
“And now things that were really unique that happened: The assassination attempt – that was in Butler,” Fetterman said. “And then Musk. Musk is not just a typical kind of a surrogate. … Musk made himself really effective, and he was described as moving to Pennsylvania, and I do believe that helped move the needle in that too.”
Trump's victory in Pennsylvania sealed his path back to the White House, but he also swept every battleground state and even won the popular vote - a victory that eluded him in 2016.
“So Trump came in in the strongest position, and he carried Pennsylvania and carried all of the swing states. So that’s what, that’s what’s reflected, that he came in in a strong position,” Fetterman said, adding that, “it’s undeniable and here we are now because of a lot of the decisions that were made before the election.”
In another sign of Trump's strength, longtime critics of his have seemingly resigned themselves to his return.
Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, the hosts of Morning Joe, reportedly met with Trump over the weekend to reconcile after years of bashing him.
Of course, some of Trump's critics have continued to challenge Trump's mandate, as a continued trickle of votes has brought his popular vote percentage below 50.
The left can quibble all they want with the results, but it won't change the outcome. Trump won, and he won big - and they're going to have to figure out where to go from here.
