Democratic Senator John Fetterman was spotted having dinner on his wedding anniversary, not with his wife, but with right-wing conspiracy theorist and MAGA stalwart Steve Bannon.
The Pennsylvania Democrat, who has raised eyebrows within his own party for his right-leaning sympathies, was seen dining at a MAGA hotspot in Washington, D.C., on June 9, according to Politico’s Playbook.
“EYES-EMOJI SPOTTED: John Fetterman, the not-uncontroversial Democratic senator for Pennsylvania, dining in D.C.’s top MAGA hangout Butterworth’s on Monday evening,” the outlet wrote.
“Fetterman was joined by Breitbart’s Matt Boyle, plus — for a good 20 minutes or so — Steve Bannon. Now that’s a conversation Playbook would have liked to overhear.”
Users on X pointed out that June 9 is also Fetterman’s 17th wedding anniversary to Gisele Fetterman. One user pointed to a post made by the Senator on June 10 last year where he describes having been in a car wreck “yesterday.”
“Not the best way to spend our 16th wedding anniversary but we’re doing well and happy to be back home in Braddock with the family,” he wrote on X at the time.
The Independent has reached out to Fetterman’s reps to confirm Monday’s dinner and the date of his wedding anniversary.
Fetterman’s alleged dinner with Bannon, Donald Trump’s former White House Chief Strategist, and Boyle comes as the Senator continues to face scrutiny and tensions with his own party over a supposed “rightward shift” in his politics.
The Senator has stated repeatedly that he would make “a pretty terrible Republican,” citing his stances on abortion and LGBTQ issues. However he has sided with the GOP on several other topics.
In a debate with his Republican colleague Senator Dave McCormick earlier this month, Fetterman said that his views, which include both supporting investments such as Trump’s proposed $12 billion border spending package, “puts me at odds with my party and my base.”
Since Trump took office, Fetterman has repeatedly clashed with parts of the leftward wing of his party over issues like co-sponsoring the Laken Riley Act, which requires federal detention of undocumented immigrants accused of a variety of crimes.
He also voted to confirm Trump officials and close allies such as Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Fetterman has called on the Democratic party to get its “s*** together” soon and reorient, at the risk of becoming a “permanent minority.”
His continuing pro-Israel stance over the conflict in the Middle East is also a source of contention, reportedly also with his wife.
A report published by New York magazine last month claimed that Gisele Fetterman told one aide she was “at breaking point” and asked another “Where is the man I married?”
