Harrisburg, Pennsylvania - In a series of newly leaked text messages, Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman has been caught calling the Epstein files a "nothing burger" and mocking the idea of free healthcare.
As part of an exposé on Fetterman's unquestioning support of Israel and insistent denial of genocide in Gaza, New York Magazine's Alex Schultz managed to dig up text messages the senator would rather have kept private.
Fetterman's right-wing views and support for Israel have been long-known to most Democratic Party supporters, but the messages revealed by NYM reveal a particular fondness for MAGA Republican talking points.
"Epstein was a nothing burger," Fetterman texted a staffer shortly after government files on late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were released earlier this year. "Worst pics I've seen were from Clinton lol."
The Epstein files dump, while heavily redacted, contained a huge amount of evidence pointing to close associations between the convicted sex trafficker and high-ranking officials in Washington, including President Donald Trump and members of his cabinet.
"Kyle Rittenhouse brought a gun to a protest. He was roundly condemned for that," Fetterman texted shortly after Alex Pretti was gunned down in Minneapolis. "We are now Democrats defending the nurse it was legal to carry. Both legal weapons. Square that."
In a group chat with staffers, Fetterman asked, "How should it cost? Free?" alongside a screenshot of an article claiming that the average US family spends $4,000 annually on healthcare. "I don't understand what affordability it is."
Fetterman has become increasingly more isolated from the Democratic Party as his public views become more extreme, a fact reflected by Schultz, who pointed out that the politician is becoming "warier" about leaks from staffers.