Two eras, two videos, shot against the same physical backdrop, convey political messages that seem a world removed from each other.
asserted
that → shoot → other
The contrasting films, produced eight years apart, neatly distill the evolution of John Fetterman, Pennsylvania’s maverick senator in his journey from progressive icon to a man seemingly more at ease with his nominal Republican opponents than his fellow Democrats.
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films → contrast → Democrats
Fetterman’s evolution has been so stark that some Democrats fear he will go over to the Republicans – jeopardizing the party’s hopes of regaining control of the Senate – despite his disavowals of such intentions.
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he → fear → intentions
Longtime activists say his stock within the party has dropped to the point where his chances of being re-elected as a Democrat are zero.
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chances → say → Democrat
A 2018 video for Fetterman’s successful campaign to be the state’s lieutenant governor opens with footage of Braddock, Pennsylvania’s landmark Mon Valley Edgar Thomson steelworks to the soundtrack of Donald Trump condemning previous US presidents for allowing industrial jobs to disappear and vowing that only he could bring them back.
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he → open → them
“Donald Trump hasn’t shown up since then, and he won’t because he never cared about places like this,” Fetterman says on camera, accusing Trump of using towns like Braddock as a prop.
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Fetterman → show → prop
Braddock, a down-at-the-heel town of fewer than 2,000 residents on the Monongahela River near Pittsburgh, seemed emblematic of the left-behind communities Trump had wooed as he ran for president with promises to revive hollowed-out industries and restore lost jobs.
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he → seem → jobs
It is also where Fetterman, a mayor for more than decade, cut his teeth as a highly unorthodox politician who broke with convention to attract investment to a shattered local economy and kickstart community projects, sometimes with his own money.
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who → cut → money
His no-holds-barred approach combined with his trademark dress of shorts and hoodie once earned him the moniker of “America’s coolest mayor”.
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approach → bar → mayor
Braddock’s giant steel plant, which has dominated the local landscape since 1875, was the first in the US to be established by the steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, and is core to the town’s identity as a once thriving working-class hub now scarred by neglect.
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which → dominate → neglect
But this month, Fetterman used it as a setting for another video – this time aimed at Republicans in their midterm convention gathering in Dallas and signaling solidarity with Trump.
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Fetterman → use → Trump
“I’m a commonsense Democrat,” he proclaimed in a recorded message introducing his fellow Pennsylvania senator, Dave McCormick, a Republican and loyal Trump acolyte with whom he has forged a close bond.
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he → ’m → bond
“I’m always trying to reject the extremes in socialism and that anti-American way of life.
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I → try → life
“Dave McCormick is the kind of senator that gets the job done.
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job → get → senator
Right back over my shoulder, that’s the iconic US Steel mill, and that’s exactly the kind of thing that will work together and will work with President Trump to fight and defend the steel way of life right here in the steel valley.
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that → ’ → valley
The video was greeted with rapturous applause by Republicans, gathered at Trump’s behest to mobilize enthusiasm for November’s midterm elections amid sagging poll numbers.
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video → greet → numbers
But for Democrats, Fetterman’s incongruous appearance may be the last straw in a series of perceived betrayals that have fueled a clamor to block his bid to run for re-election in 2028, when his Senate seat is up for grabs.
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seat → perceive → grabs
“What happened to the guy that beat up on Donald Trump in 2018 because he didn’t care?” said Mike Sturla, who served as Democratic state legislator from Lancaster for 34 years and staged a fundraising dinner for Fetterman’s 2022 Senate run after being captivated by his earlier campaign video and subsequent performance as lieutenant governor.
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who → happen → governor
“Trump was still popular at the time and people were reluctant to attack him.
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people → attack → him
I was like, ‘Good lord! Finally, somebody’s willing to just stand up and punch the guy on the nose.’”
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somebody → ’ → nose
By contrast, Fetterman’s latest video, argued Sturla, created “the perception that he’s complicit” with the Republicans.
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he → argue → Republicans
Cries of disloyalty have steadily increased since Fetterman took his Senate seat in 2023, seven months after suffering a debilitating stroke while campaigning in Lancaster that left with him acute speech and communication challenges.
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that → increase → challenges
He later underwent treatment for clinical depression, a common post-stroke condition.
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He → undergo → depression
Criticism has intensified since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, with Fetterman repeatedly praising the US president’s protectionist policies and appeal to working-class voters.
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Fetterman → intensify → voters
While most Democrats recoiled at Trump’s second presidential victory, Fetterman took steps to mollify the man he had once vilified, visiting him at Mar-a-Lago days before the inauguration.
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he → recoil → inauguration
Since then, Fetterman has gained a high profile as a strident advocate for Israel, defending it from charges of genocide in Gaza even as fellow Democrats openly criticize or distance themselves from the country.
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Democrats → gain → country
Fetterman’s changing political profile has coincided with allegations that he has shown scant interest in doing his job as a senator.
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he → change → senator
The Wall Street Journal reported that he had declined to meet a group of paralyzed military veterans to discuss legislation that could help their care, citing illness, yet was well enough on the same day to keep an appointment with Fox News to discuss Israel and the war with Iran.
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that → report → Iran
(The Guardian contacted Fetterman’s office.)
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Guardian → contact → office
He has also refused to meet officials from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to discuss Medicaid cuts, according to the newspaper.
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He → refuse → newspaper
In the Senate, Fetterman is said to have avoided close ties to fellow Democrats while striking up friendships with Republicans, such as McCormick and Katie Britt, a conservative senator from Alabama.
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Fetterman → say → Alabama
It is a far cry from his spell as Braddock’s mayor, and Sturla said it also contrasted with Fetterman’s time as Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, when he visited each of the state’s 67 counties in a controversial campaign to legalize marijuana, a cause which enamored him to liberal-minded progressives and gave him a statewide platform to launch his Senate campaign.
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which → say → campaign
Lynn Miller, a longtime Democratic activist who was Fetterman’s de facto campaign manager in Lancaster county during his Senate campaign, said he triumphed in a primary over Conor Lamb, a Democratic representative who was seen as an establishment candidate, because he appeared to be progressive and “different”.
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he → say → candidate
“I liked everything I heard,” said Miller, who recalls waiting to introduce Fetterman to an expectant audience at Millersville University, near Lancaster, only for the event to be canceled at the last moment.
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event → like → moment
She later learned that he had suffered a stoke.
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he → learn → stoke
“He really emphasized that he was different, that he wasn’t a typical politician, and that just appealed.”
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that → emphasize → ?
Miller now professes herself to be “disappointed” and is demanding the return of her campaign donations.
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herself → profess → donations
“His alliance at times with President Trump is unforgivable,” she said.
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she → say → Trump
“He says he’s a commonsense Democrat.
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he → say → ?
Well, dude, that’s not how you sold yourself five years ago.
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you → ’ → yourself
…and 42 more, not listed.
The Aporia
