Fetterman mocks fellow lawmakers on late-night show: 'America is not sending their best and brightest' to DC

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Fetterman tells Stephen Colbert America is 'not sending their best and brightest to Washington, D.C.'

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., told late night host Stephen Colbert that Americans weren't sending their "best and brightest" to Washington, D.C., during a Wednesday appearance on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., joined late night host Stephen Colbert on Wednesday and said Americans weren't sending their "best and brightest" to Capitol Hill, arguing that it is "scary."

"Is it awkward to be in the Capitol and then run into people that you have put up a devastating meme about — because you’ve got excellent meme game — but then you have to see these people in the cafeteria?" Colbert asked on "The Late Show."

"You all need to know that America is not sending their best and brightest to Washington, D.C.," Fetterman responded, to laughter from the audience. "Sometimes you literally just can’t believe… these people are making the decisions that are determining the government here. It’s actually scary." 

He said it was "dangerous" and referenced the recent near-government shutdown. Fetterman argued that there were plenty of "less gifted" people that would have let the government shut down. 

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., and late night host Stephen Colbert discussed the Senate dress code on Wednesday on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

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Colbert and Fetterman spent much of the interview discussing Fetterman's recovery from a stroke and his mental health issues; he was hospitalized while suffering from depression this year and continues to have auditory processing problems that have made communication difficult. He used a tablet to transcribe Colbert's questions during the interview.

They also discussed the Senate dress code, during which Colbert gifted the senator a tuxedo t-shirt. 

The Democratic senator made fun of critics of the dress code decision and said, "oh my God, the world is going to burn because he’s going to wear a hoodie on the floor."

"Ukraine or shutting down the government, all these issues. I think it’s much more important to see is, what will this man where on the floor of the Senate?" he continued.

Fetterman also expressed support for Israel following the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas and criticized the House for not having a speaker. 

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., arrives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 21, 2023. (Pedro Ugarte/AFP via Getty Images)

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"As a senator, I am always going to stand on the side of Israel and I’m going to make sure that whatever is needed, military, intelligence or humanitarian, to vote for that and support that as well, too. Right now, they can’t do anything because we don’t have a speaker. This is what I’m talking about," he said.

Colbert asked if Fetterman saw President Biden's speech.

"I know the president is committed to making sure that we deliver for Israel. But also Ukraine as well, too. We have a pivotal kind of position to be in that we have to stand with both of these kinds of campaigns, to stand for those kinds of people that are fighting against these kinds of awful kinds of enemies," he said. 

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., poses in his office on June 22, 2023. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

At the end of the discussion, Fetterman presented Colbert with a black Carhartt hoodie. 

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