Adam Jentleson, chief of staff for Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who is steadfastly supporting his nmentally ill boss who has been hospitalized because he is an apparent danger to himself, was singing a different tune about elected officials’ mental fitness for office during the Trump years. Jentleson even warned against efforts to “normalize…mental illness”. Jentleson is a sharp-elbow throwing partisan who was deputy chief of staff to one of the dirtiest Senators in recent history, the late Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)
Fetterman suffered a debilitating stroke last May and has struggled to do his job as Senator since being sworn in on January 3rd. Fetterman has been hospitalized twice this year after assuming office because he is unable to take care of himself and because his chief of staff, who should have been looking out for his boss’ health and well-being, ran him into the ground.
Jentleson repeatedly questioned President Trump’s mental health and fitness for office during his presidency, even though Trump was (and is) perfectly sane and aced a cognitive test while president.
While Fetterman has been held incommunicado for over two weeks since allegedly being hospitalized for clinical depression, Jentleson is basically “acting Senator”, doing everything except cast votes and ask questions at committee hearings. Fetterman is miraculously sponsoring legislation, sending detailed policy letters and opening field offices around Pennsylvania even though he can’t even make a ten-second video that thanks supporters for their well wishes.
Jentleson on September 29, 2017: “This man is not mentally fit to be POTUS. People are suffering. It’s past time we had an honest conversation about Trump’s mental unfitness”
This man is not mentally fit to be POTUS. People are suffering.
It’s past time we had an honest conversation about Trump’s mental unfitness https://t.co/HDZ929rVzB
— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) September 29, 2017
Jentleson on March 4, 2017, “Discussing Trump’s mental health should not be taboo. It’s a matter of national security and the questions are real.”
Discussing Trump’s mental health should not be taboo. It’s a matter of national security and the questions are real.https://t.co/vaGngg3DCD
— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) March 4, 2017
Jentleson on April 20, 2017: “It should not be taboo to question Trump’s mental health. When he’s flirting with war, it’s a matter of national security.”
It should not be taboo to question Trump’s mental health.
When he’s flirting with war, it’s a matter of national security. https://t.co/wnnXawBfmJ
— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) April 20, 2017
Jentleson on November 30, 2018: “Great piece by @MarkLeibovich. And/but the danger of mood stories is that they normalize Trump’s apparent mental illness by laundering abnormal levels of instability and irrationality through more accessible frames like anger and frustration.”
Great piece by @MarkLeibovich. And/but the danger of mood stories is that they normalize Trump’s apparent mental illness by laundering abnormal levels of instability and irrationality through more accessible frames like anger and frustration. https://t.co/7tFc0hYlBQ
— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) November 30, 2018
Excerpt from Jentleson’s Wikipedia page:
Jentleson began his career as a policy researcher and speechwriter for the John Kerry 2004 presidential campaign.[5] He then served as Manager of Congressional Affairs at the Center for American Progress, speechwriter for the 2008 presidential campaign of John Edwards.
Jentleson served as communications director and later, deputy chief of staff, for United States Senator Harry Reid from 2010 to 2016.[6][7] The New York Times published his essay, “The Side of Harry Reid Most People Never Saw” the day after Senator Reid’s passing on December 28, 2021.[8]
Jentleson is a columnist for GQ, Jentleson has also contributed commentary to The New York Times, Politico magazine, and The Washington Post. His book, Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy, provides an extensive critique of the United States Senate, particularly the rise of the filibuster during the 19th century and 20th century to slow the advancement of civil rights legislation for American minorities, particularly African Americans.[9][10]
In mid-November 2022, Pennsylvania’s newly elected U.S. Senator John Fetterman announced the appointment of Jettleson as transition committee co-chair[11] and, a few weeks later, in early December, named Jentleson as his chief of staff.[12][13]
Photo of Jentleson from 2020:
Joining @Lawrence @TheLastWord to talk impeachment in the Senate pic.twitter.com/HMu2xelITZ
— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) January 14, 2020
In his Twitter bio, Jentleson boasts he is “Reid mafia for life.”