Sen. John Fetterman’s former chief of staff Adam Jentleson appeared on CNN today and reacted to the Senator’s video message introducing his Republican colleague, Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA), at the Republican Midterm Convention. Jentleson also said Democrats should not put too much stock in Fetterman’s pledge to remain the party’s 51st Senate vote if Democrats regain control of the chamber. “I think it’s encouraging if you’re a Democrat that he is saying that, but I certainly would not put too much stock in it going forward,” Jentleson said. “I think that, you know, this is somebody who just wants to get attention. And if, you know, getting — switching parties would get him a lot of attention if he’s the deciding factor, I think we’ll see what happens.”

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you very much for that. All right, one of the big surprises from night one of this Republican convention, Senator John Fetterman, the Democrat from Pennsylvania, made a special appearance at this Republican gathering via video. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA): Yes, I’m a Democrat. Why am I here talking to you today? Because, well, I’m a commonsense Democrat. I’m always going to stand with America. I’m always going to reject the extremes and socialism and that anti-American way of life. (END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: All right, this sparked all kinds of new speculation that Fetterman could switch parties, which, of course, would make it harder for the Democrats to take control of the U.S. Senate, raised the bar even more. So, the senator did put out a statement last night after that video that said, quote, “I’m a lifelong Democrat who votes overwhelmingly with my party. And should the Senate flip in November, I will still be the 51st vote that I ran on.” Now with us now is Adam Jentleson, a Democratic strategist, Fetterman’s former chief of staff. He’s the author of “Supermajority: How Democrats Can Build Lasting Power.” Adam, great to see you this morning. I got to ask, when you either saw the video as it was happening live or saw that it was coming out last night, what was your first reaction? ADAM JENTLESON, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST AND FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF FOR SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN: I was not surprised. I think that Senator Fetterman has sort of reached a point where he’s just trying to do whatever he can do to get the most attention for the least amount of work, and that is what he’s doing here. You know, I think it’s important and healthy for politicians to break with their party on issues where they care deeply. But, you know, this is somebody who has sort of stopped actually doing the job of being a senator and instead is just sort of seeking opportunities to, you know, put himself front and center and do sort of high-profile maneuvers like this. So, you know, it sort of struck me as par for the course given what he’s sort of decided to do with his — with his seat. BERMAN: So, when he put out the statement after where he said, you know, “I will still be the 51st vote that I ran on,” how rock solid of a guarantee is that, do you think, that he will not switch parties? JENTLESON: I would — I think it’s encouraging if you’re a Democrat that he is saying that, but I certainly would not put too much stock in it going forward. I think that, you know, this is somebody who just wants to get attention. And if, you know, getting — switching parties would get him a lot of attention if he’s the deciding factor, I think we’ll see what happens. BERMAN: All right. So, you mentioned that you think he is not doing his job as senator. This, of course, follows, there was this “Wall Street Journal” article, what, last week at this point where it had quotes from former staffers, not you, you say, that were saying he was skipping meetings with constituents, not showing up to this event or that event. Fetterman himself said it’s all disgruntled former employees making that. But the descriptions in that article, how accurate — you’ve been in that office — do you see them? JENTLESON: They struck me as very accurate. This — the article described things that all happened since I left. So — but they were consistent with the behavior that I saw when I was there and that sort of disturbed me deeply. Look, I think senators, you know, are entitled to their own opinions. This is not about ideology. Many of the staff who work for him support him breaking with his party and taking stances that are at odds with the Democratic Party line. But I think what has really upset people is that, you know, these are instances of the senator refusing to meet with representatives of the children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania, right, who were there to talk about Medicaid cuts. They’re struggling with Medicaid cuts that are affecting children in Pennsylvania. This is a senator who refused to go to the funeral of three police officers who were killed in the line of duty in York, Pennsylvania, his hometown, because he didn’t feel like putting on a suit and sitting through a funeral for three hours. So, the category of issues here are entirely devoid of ideology. This is about someone who is paid by the taxpayers to do a job for the people of Pennsylvania, and he’s simply not doing it. BERMAN: So, some of these former staffers have told “The Wall Street Journal” they’re going to have this Twitter account that’s going to start posting other stories like this, I think, next week. What do you think about that? JENTLESON: Yes, I would recommend against that approach. I think, as a matter of principle, it’s important if you’re going to come forward with a criticism, to put your name on it and say it on the record. I think people would be rightly skeptical of things that are posted anonymously from a Twitter account that nobody knows who’s behind it. So, if anybody’s listening, I would say, put your name on it and come forward. I think it’s important to do as a matter of principle, and also to allow the public to judge the merits of what they’re seeing. BERMAN: Adam Jentleson, former chief of staff to John Fetterman, we appreciate your insight this morning. Thank you.

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