U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) on Sunday said the appearance by Elon Musk at the Saturday rally held in Butler, Pennsylvania by former President Donald Trump is a “big deal” for the Republican in a “very close” election.
Fetterman appeared on “Fox News Sunday” with Shannon Bream and once again predicted a “very competitive” race between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris in Pennsylvania, and acknowledged the Republican understands the outsized influence of Pennsylvania on the 2024 election, after acknowledging the impact of Elon Musk joining Trump on stage.
“It’s gonna be very, very close. In 2020, I put out a picture of the Butler rally from Trump, and said it was going to be very close in 2020, and then it was,” said Fetterman. “Now he’s back in Butler, and it’s the same thing, and nothing has changed.”
Make sure everyone you know has registered to vote! Only 2 days left to do so in Georgia & Arizona. pic.twitter.com/QDrxjHQjXG
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 6, 2024
The senator added, “It was a big rally, and there was tens and tens of thousands of people, and Musk joined him.”
Fetterman’s remarks came the day after Trump returned to Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, where he held a rally on the same grounds where he was nearly assassinated on July 13.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 6, 2024
The Democrat then acknowledged the potential impact of Musk’s appearance and suggested he will attempt to counter the influence by personally campaigning for Harris.
“I guess Musk is a big deal as a surrogate,” said Fetterman. “That’s why I’ve been spending my time in small rooms across Pennsylvania, and red counties.”
Ultimately, he told Bream, “Trump understands that Pennsylvania picks the president, our side definitely knows this, and we’ve seen that happen both in 2016 and in 2020.”
Fetterman has repeatedly predicted Pennsylvania will be a very tight election, with the senator last month stating Trump enjoys a “special kind of hold” over Pennsylvanians during his remarks at The Atlantic Festival.
“I want people to understand, it’s not science, but there is energy, and there is kinds of anger on the ground in Pennsylvania and people are very committed, and Trump is going to be strong,” said Fetterman. He added, “You can’t even understand it, and it’s not like a science that can explain it, but you have to just know that it’s real.”
Despite not being on the ballot in November, the senator has played a large role in the 2024 elections.
After Democrats and their allies in the press began urging President Joe Biden to call off his campaign after his abysmal debate performance against Trump, Fetterman became one of the president’s most ardent defenders, at one point arguing the media was obsessing with Biden and “smearing” him in their attempts to coax him to stand down.
When it came time for Harris to select her vice presidential running mate, Fetterman may have played a role as well. His staff members publicly urged the Harris campaign against picking Governor Josh Shapiro, who Fetterman’s team argued harbors “excessive” political ambition.
Watch Fetterman’s full appearance on “Fox News Sunday”:
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
