Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman Compares January 6 to September 11 Terrorist Attacks

Pennsylvania Democrat nominee for U.S. Senate, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, on Tuesday compared the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 Americans.

During an event Tuesday, Erie County Black Democrats Caucus Chairwoman Selena King asked Fetterman how the January 6 riot shaped his campaign and candidacy. Fetterman began to answer before quickly asking King how it affected her.

“I was shocked that that happened, and especially being a person of color. I know that if they were people of color, it would have been totally different,” said King.

“And it was jarring,” Fetterman responded. “The last thing I would actually kind of think it was similar, that feeling of 9/11, you know, when you see the planes hit.”

Fetterman, who suffered a stroke in May, added:

We had this idea where, you, I watched this, and I can’t believe that you have thousands of people like overrunning, you know, our government like that, and how jarring and shocking and how police officers die there. And now, of course, Trump, and now by Oz, supported pardoning all of them, you know, like this idea — this insurrectionists — that how anybody could believe and try to normalize that is something that we just absolutely can not ever accept as a nation.

During his debate with Oz last week, Fetterman relied on a closed captioning system to help with his auditory processing issues stemming from the stroke and repeatedly struggled with his words throughout the night. Local news station WXPI conducted a poll that found 82 percent of viewers believed Oz won the debate, and further subsequent polling bodes well for the Republican.

The Republican has either led or tied Fetterman in five of the last seven polls shared by FiveThirtyEight, including a trio of polls in the direct aftermath of the debate showing him in the lead. As Democrats look to manufacture momentum in the home stretch, former President Barack Obama will be rallying with Fetterman on Saturday.