John Fetterman's 'Best and Brightest' Remark to Stephen Colbert Backfires

Senator John Fetterman has been derided on social media by conservative critics after stating in an interview with Stephen Colbert that "America is not sending their best and brightest to Washington, D.C."

Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, appeared on Wednesday's The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, and touched upon a number of subjects, including his targeting of political adversaries on social media.

Questioning whether Fetterman's actions online made things awkward on Capitol Hill, Colbert said: "You've got excellent meme game, but then you have to see these people in the cafeteria."

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

Fetterman added that he found it unsettling to see such power placed in the hands of "some less gifted kinds of people that are willing to shut down the government just to score points on Fox [News]."

A clip of Fetterman's comments was shared on X, formerly Twitter, shortly after the episode aired, leading to mockery of the senator.

An X account managed by the Republican National Committee, called RNC Research shared a post that read: "John Fetterman, completely unironically: 'America is not sending their best and brightest, you know, to Washington, D.C.'"

Political commentator and activist CJ Pearson also repeated Fetterman's comment, before injecting his own opinion: "Pot, meet kettle."

Liz Churchill, another political commentator, also took aim at Fetterman, writing: "I really hope the Mensa Society offers him a membership for this comment."

"John Fetterman should look in the mirror," Citizen Free Press posted about the politician's comment, while pro-Republican account @ProudElephantUS said: "Coming from him? That's hilarious."

Amid the swipes, a number of people spoke out in support of Fetterman, with some noting that a stroke he suffered in 2022 had affected his speech.

"I enjoyed the interview," wrote one. "John Fetterman is much-improved since his stroke. I really wondered at first if he would recover and be able to do the job as Senator, but hearing his responses tonight made me see that he's able."

"John Fetterman is on Colbert and I've honestly never heard him speak at length," commented another. "He's really well spoken and quite enamoring. And he's quick.... Despite having a stroke."

Fetterman suffered a stroke in May 2022 while campaigning for the Democratic nomination for Senate in Pennsylvania. He won the nomination and went on to defeat Republican candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz in November.

He now uses a screen reader after his stroke left him with processing and auditory issues. The screen was on Colbert's desk during his interview. Fetterman discussed how his issues had affected his outlook.

"I never thought about captioning before the stroke," he told the host. "But now I realize I have to be an advocate for anyone with a disability, to have the kind of technology that allows them to fully participate in society."

During the interview, Fetterman also discussed his depression, which led to him spending almost seven weeks at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, earlier this year.

Speaking about making his treatment public, Fetterman said: "It's a privilege and it's a duty to talk about this… I want [to tell] anyone who's listening to this, that sees this: If you are suffering from depression, please get help. Please get help because it works."

"I get emotional because when you're in the blackness and depression tricks you into thinking that you've lost even though you might have won," he went on. "I was a skeptic. I'm like, 'I'm never going to get better, this is never going to change.'

"It takes you in a very more dangerous kind of direction. I really want to emphasize, anyone that is on that slope, don't ever, ever, ever make a decision to ever harm yourself. And I beg people, please get help."

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "988" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org