Fetterman says Trump has ‘special kind of place’ in PA after assassination attempt

Former President Donald Trump has a “special” connection with the people of Pennsylvania, Democratic Sen. John Fetterman warns.

Fetterman made the observation during a conversation with The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg during the 2024 Atlantic Festival on Thursday.

“Trump has created a special kind of hold within the coronet he’s remade – the party – and he has a special kind of place in Pennsylvania, and I think that only deepened after the first assassination attempt,” Fetterman said. 

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Jeffrey Goldberg and John Fetterman speak on stage during the “In Conversation with John Fetterman” panel for The Atlantic Festival 2024 in Washington, DC.  (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for The Atlantic)

A deranged gunman attempted to assassinate Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July. The shooting, which Trump miraculously survived with only a wound on the side of his head, sharpened support among his die-hard base.

“I also want people to understand, you know, and it’s not science, but there is, there’s energy and there are kinds of anger on the ground in Pennsylvania — and people are very committed and strong,” Fetterman said Thursday. “And I joked that his signs became like the state flower – and you see that everywhere.”

However — after President Biden’s withdrawal from the race and Vice President Kamala Harris’ rapid ascension as the Democratic presidential nominee, polls indicate she holds a slight lead over Trump in the Keystone State.

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Former President Trump was injured during an assassination attempt at a July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

A Thursday poll from the Washington Post had Harris at 48% support among likely and registered voters, while Trump sits at 47%. A New York Times poll gave Harris a slightly larger lead, with the vice president sitting at 50% compared to Trump’s 46%.

Fetterman expressed skepticism of Harris’ reported lead in Pennsylvania on Thursday, comparing the situation to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s seven-point lead in Pennsylvania that ultimately collapsed on Election Day during her failed 2016 presidential bid.

“Everybody thought that it was in the bag, but that’s not the energy and the other kinds of things that were really consistent with what I’m witnessing all across,” Fetterman recalled. “And then, sadly, we saw what happened.”

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Harris, right, and Trump during the second presidential debate at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Doug Mills/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“People understand who he is and what he’s about, and enough people think that that’s the feature, and it’s not a bug,” he added.