Gisele Barreto Fetterman, married to a former mayor and lieutenant governor who is now a US senator, laments how “evil” the US political scene has become, saying: “I still hate politics.”
The wife of Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman spoke with MSNBC in an interview that will air Sunday.
“I still hate politics,” Barreto Fetterman said. “I don’t know how I ended up here…he hated what he’s become. And I think it can be very different, of course, and we need to cast the right people to change that. But it’s so bad.”
Barreto Fetterman He came to the United States from Brazil when he was seven years old, traveling with his mother and brother, without documentation.
“After 15 years of living in the shadows,” its official Biography reads: “Gisele received her green card in 2004 and became a US citizen in 2009.”
She married John Fetterman in 2008, when he had been Mayor of Braddock for two years. In 2019, the 6-foot-9 populist was elected Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania. In 2022 he won a US Senate seat by defeating TV doctor Mehmet Oz, the Donald Trump-backed Republican nominee.
During a campaign that quickly turned ugly, Fetterman suffered a stroke. After taking his Senate seat, he was hospitalized with depression. His wife, who has acted as his spokesmanit became the object of attacks from the right.
In November, Barreto Fetterman told the New Republic:: “The right hates women. They especially hate strong women, and I think that’s what you’re seeing.
“The fact that the wife of a senator-elect has been attacked non-stop for the last 24 hours and everyone agrees with it, and everyone thinks it’s normal… It’s not normal.”
She also told the magazine: “Ever since I walked into the Capitol to train, my inbox has been completely full of threats and horrible things. And that’s because I’ve been [on] loop on Fox News.”
In his new interview with MSNBC, the Inside with Jen PsakiBarreto Fetterman told the former White House press secretary that she was “very proud” of her husband for seeking treatment for depression.
“I mean, he’s very brave, right, and we always read in the news when something tragic happens to someone. And instead, I want to read about someone who is open about seeking help.”
Of the right-wing attacks against her, she said: “Going into this world of politics that I fall into, people always said: ‘Don’t worry, Gisele, you’re going to toughen up, you’re going to have thicker skin. “. .’ And it was never like, ‘Let’s address the issues.’ It’s like you’re going to get stronger to deal with them.
“I’m like, ‘I like my skin. Alright. I don’t want thicker skin. Let’s talk about the real issues, not how we should… get stronger to carry this weight.’”
When asked why she thought she was attacked and threatened more than her husband, Barreto Fetterman said: “I think it’s the immigrant side. I think it’s easier to attack women, right? Women are just a target.”
Barreto Fetterman said he wanted his attackers to know “that I can take it. Again. I’m fine. But there are millions of young women, young girls who are watching this and maybe making decisions that are not what they want for fear of being next. And that’s harmful.”