'Pace yourselves': Fetterman tells Dems to 'chill' because Trump 'hasn't even been inaugurated yet'

Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman has advised fellow Democrats to "chill" amid mounting concerns over President-elect Donald Trump’s upcoming second term and his series of cabinet appointments. In an interview with NBC News, Fetterman stressed that it is too early to overreact because Trump “hasn’t even been inaugurated yet.”

“If you’re already exhausted, freaking out, and it’s not even Thanksgiving, then you really ought to pace yourselves,” Fetterman said. “Because he hasn’t even been inaugurated yet. So you really have to chill out, and you’re going to have to be more discerning or discriminate on what’s going to freak you out or what’s just trolling. Because it’s not the weather, it’s the climate now for the next four years.”

When asked by NBC whether Democrats need to take a measured approach, Fetterman agreed, warning against constant outrage.

“That’s what I’m saying. Unless you don’t, you are going to be the cat, and he’ll be the guy with the laser pointer, and you’re going to be chasing it around the whole room,” Fetterman explained. “And again, I don’t understand why people just, they think freaking out [matters]. And I don’t understand. And if the sick burns really mattered, you know, here we wouldn’t be.”

Fetterman’s remarks come as Trump makes waves with a rapid succession of cabinet appointments, naming figures such as Tulsi Gabbard, Pete Hegseth, and Rep. Matt Gaetz. The nomination of Gaetz for attorney general, in particular, has drawn backlash from lawmakers on both the left and the right. However, Fetterman dismissed the move as “just nothing but trolling.”

“That’s got to be candy for him [Trump] to have and watch everybody get triggered. I’ve said this before, it’s like, clutch those pearls harder and scold louder, that’s not going to win,” Fetterman remarked. “And that’s been demonstrated in this cycle.”