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

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