The wife of U.S. Sen.-elect John Fetterman of Pennsylvania said right-wing misogyny is fueling personal attacks on her by conservative news outlets and on social media.
“The right-wing hates women,” Gisele Fetterman told The New Republic magazine in a new interview.
“They especially hate strong women, and I think that’s what you’re seeing,” said Fetterman, whose Democratic husband currently is Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor.
“The fact that a spouse of a senator-elect has been attacked nonstop for the past 24 hours and everyone’s OK with it and everyone thinks it’s normal … It’s not normal,” she said after her first day of spousal orientation on Capitol Hill.
“Since entering the Capitol for training, my inbox has been completely filled with threats and horrible things,” she told the magazine.
“And that’s because I’ve been [on a] loop on Fox News,” she said.
“Hopefully it’s not like this forever … and hopefully it’s not like this for the next young Latina or person of color or spouse who enters this space,” the Brazil-born Fetterman said.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., another woman of color who has been heavily criticized by Fox News, sympathized with Gisele Fetterman, telling The New Republic, “It’s very important that the [Democratic] party sticks up for people.”
“They haven’t done a good job in the past,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
Gisele Fetterman has become her husband’s spokesperson since he suffered a stroke in May.
That medical emergency accelerated conservative attacks on John Fetterman, whose race against the Republican nominee, TV celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz, was among the most closely watched contests of the midterm elections.
The Senate seat at stake was becoming vacant due to the retirement of Sen. Pat Toomey, a Republican, at a time when the GOP was trying to regain a majority in the Senate. Oz also drew attention because of the backing he received from former President Donald Trump.
Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/21/wife-of-john-fetterman-blasts-fox-news-conservative-hate.html