Video of Senator Fetterman Arguing with Flight Crew Resurfaces After Report Highlights Concerns About His Mental Fitness

Just hours after New York Magazine published a report raising questions about Senator John Fetterman's mental state, a video of him clashing with an airline crew member has resurfaced and is gaining traction online, according to Newsweek.

The Intelligencer section of New York Magazine released a piece on Friday featuring interviews with both current and former staffers of the Pennsylvania Democrat, who detailed what they described as signs of cognitive decline.

One of the key moments mentioned in the report is a video from February that captures Fetterman in a dispute with a pilot before a flight bound for Pittsburgh.

Independent journalist Nick Sortor was among the first to share the clip on X, formerly known as Twitter:

The video appears to show the back of Fetterman’s head during a confrontation over a seatbelt. The pilot can be heard explaining that federal rules require all passengers’ seatbelts to be visible to the crew.

Though Fetterman claimed he was wearing his, it was apparently hidden from view.

“If your seat belt’s on, it just has to be visible, and right now it’s not visible,” the pilot explained.

Attempting to resolve the issue, the pilot offered a seatbelt extender.

“It will make it bigger, so it can go outside of your sweatshirt. Would that work?” the pilot asked.

Fetterman’s reply isn’t clear in the video, but the pilot eventually issued a firm warning.

“Sir, if you want to go to Pittsburgh, it’s simple,” he said. “You have to follow our instructions or you’re going to be asked to get off the airplane.”

As of Saturday afternoon, Sortor’s post featuring the video had been viewed 1.4 million times.

“WTF?! Sen. John Fetterman was caught on video BLOCKING his flight to Pittsburgh from taking off because he wanted to argue with the pilot about having to wear a seatbelt Is he drunk? Or just an entitled slob? ‘Rules for thee, but not for me’ are the words Democrats live by,” Sortor wrote in his post.

Fetterman previously suffered a stroke in 2022, shortly before he won the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania. While he secured a victory in the general election, questions about his cognitive health surfaced during his debate with Republican challenger Dr. Mehmet Oz.

In the recent Intelligencer article, Fetterman pushed back against the criticisms raised by former and current aides, rejecting their portrayal of his mental state.

“I’m just going to say that it’s disgruntled employees saying things that are either untrue or, so, that’s kind of the business that we are in,” he said, according to the report.