A viral video shows Sen. John Fetterman getting into an argument with airplane crew on flight to Pittsburgh

Fallon Roth, The Philadelphia Inquirer on May 5, 2025

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Video from earlier this year shows Sen. John Fetterman getting in an argument with an airline crew over the proper way to wear his seatbelt on a flight to Pittsburgh.

The video went viral after New York Magazine’s profile of Pennsylvania’s Democratic senator and his mental well-being, per staffers, last week in which the tense moment is referenced as an example of Fetterman’s questionable behavior leaking to the public.

The video, which has gone viral, shows an airline crew member asking Fetterman to make sure his seatbelt is visible to the flight crew, citing federal regulations. What ensued was what appeared to be a back-and-forth between the senator and the airline crew member, though many of Fetterman’s responses are inaudible, occasionally raising his hands.

Some of his responses include: “I put my seatbelt on” and “Yes, it is” in regards to his seat belt being fastened.

“If you want to go to Pittsburgh, it’s simple, you have to follow our instructions or be asked to get off the airplane. We’re not asking much,” the airline crew member said at one point. The crew member had also offered Fetterman a seatbelt extender so it could more comfortably fit around his sweatshirt.

Representatives for Fetterman did not respond to a request for comment about the interaction.

It’s unclear what led up to the confrontation with Fetterman or what occurred after the moment stopped being recorded. The video being widely circulated was posted on X by Brendan Hartnett, who works at communications firm Longwell Partners, according to his Linkedin page. The firm is founded by Sarah Longwell, publisher of The Bulwark, a conservative news site that publishes content in opposition to President Donald Trump.

The NY Mag profile, which highlighted this interaction, was anchored by the account of Adam Jentleson, Fetterman’s former chief of staff, who alleged that the mental health of the senator, who suffered a stroke during his 2022 election campaign and previously underwent treatment for clinical depression, is more dire than previously reported.

Some of his friends in the Senate, namely Sen. Peter Welch, D.-Vt., and Sen. Katie Britt, R.-AL, praised Fetterman in the article and painted him as someone equipped to handle the job. But staffers, according to NY Mag, said incidents — like the one on the plane and another when Fetterman was caught filming and mocking a constituent who was a climate activist — was becoming difficult to explain.

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