Fetterman Cheers On Trump's First-Ever GOP Midterm Fluff Fest

Senator John Fetterman showed up in a prerecorded video to cheer on Donald Trump's first-ever midterm convention, praising Senator Dave McCormick and claiming credit for saving Pennsylvania steel jobs — a claim the numbers don't really back up. Julie Roginsky and Michelle Kinney dig into how Fetterman hoodwinked the Democrats who elected him, why he's doing this now, and whether there's something bigger at play — including the growing speculation that he's laying the groundwork to leave the party altogether.

00:00 – Cold open
00:10 – Show open: tonight's topics, Fetterman at the RNC
00:35 – Internet provider update
01:07 – Julie's confession: a drink on air
01:36 – Julie's day off, family stuff
02:06 – Julie's Tom Llamas story at NBC
03:14 – The teaser: "breaking news, John Fetterman"
03:46 – Fetterman's "Trump brought back steel" claim
04:12 – Bethlehem, PA and the Billy Joel "Allentown" story
04:56 – Bethlehem Steel's history
05:44 – "I'll tell you what's not there — the steel industry"
06:07 – What Bethlehem actually became: healthcare, not steel
07:58 – "John Fetterman is full of shit"
08:22 – Watching Fetterman's RNC video
09:43 – Why Republicans want Fetterman to stay a Democrat
10:52 – "J.D. Vance, the laziest man in America"
11:12 – Fetterman's own "51st vote" pledge, read aloud
11:27 – The Conor Lamb promise: not a Manchin, not a Sinema
13:22 – The cosplay problem, not the hoodie
13:34 – "I never supported John Fetterman"
15:12 – Michelle's receipts: Carl Fetterman's insurance business, the $1 loft
16:31 – The health timeline: stroke, Walter Reed, the Jentleson letter
17:23 – Going public, staff fallout, the WSJ report
18:18 – "Not a fan" — Julie's take
19:43 – The Shapiro VP story: "not a team player"
20:56 – Dave McCormick, Goldman Sachs, and actual "team players"
22:49 – Will Fetterman really leave the party?
23:24 – Rep. Madeleine Dean's statement, played in full
25:09 – Reacting to Dean: "livid" constituents
26:19 – The polling: underwater with his own party
27:04 – Could Fetterman actually win as a Republican?
27:37 – The Jeff Van Drew comparison
29:00 – Arlen Specter, the last defector who lost
29:33 – The squash center story
31:06 – Convention background: Don Jr., RFK Jr.
31:56 – What makes this convention historically unusual
32:44 – Empty seats, low viewership
33:09 – Grindr crashes at the RNC
33:44 – The tarmac blow-up slide incident
34:19 – Trump vs. the ABC reporter
35:33 – Strom Thurmond stories from the Senate
37:01 – Jesse Helms and the "little scooters"
37:41 – Charlie Kirk's one-year anniversary
38:05 – "Nice is different than good": Mitch McConnell
39:55 – The "funniest guy in the world" bit — and why it doesn't matter
40:24 – George Bush, Al Gore, and sliding doors of history
42:18 – Preview: tomorrow's 9/11 programming
43:37 – Tim Scott's WWE-style RNC speech
45:09 – Anna Paulina Luna and the HUD secretary
46:46 – "Do you ever stop and think what's going on?"
47:19 – The AG's hypocrisy on political violence
49:29 – Natalie Harp's $45,000 bonus
50:07 – Trump's closing speech: renaming the Strait of Hormuz
51:15 – "New America," Lake Ontario, and the AP's pushback
52:08 – Trump's obsession with Ken Paxton's clothes
52:53 – "Trump might be gay" — the Grindr bit
53:23 – Hasan Piker's thirst-trap moment on the big screen
54:57 – The Matt and Mercy Schlapp block story
56:36 – The $5,000 "dividend" promise, explained
58:16 – Bret Baier presses J.D. Vance on the math
59:56 – Vance's tariff word salad
1:01:03 – Gas prices, food recalls, and economic reality
1:02:52 – Alaska's $26-a-gallon gas
1:03:38 – Old Fox Business bets, still unpaid
1:07:15 – Maria Bartiromo: "nice is different than good"
1:07:33 – Sign-off

Follow The Mayday Network for more reporting, analysis, and rapid response — new content every day.

Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/the-mayday-network/id6754000270) | Substack (https://substack.com/@themaydaynetwork) |

X/Twitter (https://twitter.com/MaydayNetwork) |

Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/TheMaydayNetwork) |

Threads (https://www.threads.net/@TheMaydayNetwork) |

Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/themaydaynetwork.com) |

Website (https://www.themaydaynetwork.com)