Northeast
Democratic senator says there ‘needs to be space’ for Fetterman in party as Republicans come to his defense
Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego defended beleaguered fellow Democrat John Fetterman Saturday, saying “there needs to be space” in the party for the Pennsylvania senator.
Fetterman, who won election to his seat in 2022 despite having a stroke on the campaign trail, has been under fire from Democrats, even former staffers who claim to have witnessed erratic behavior.
But Fetterman has also clashed with his party’s progressive wing on Israel and other issues, and his supporters say it is his independent streak that is prompting the whispers.
“There needs to be space for Fetterman and for other senators in our caucus,” Gallego said in an interview in Pennsylvania Saturday, Politico reported. “He still is a senator that fights for working-class people. We may not be 100% in agreement a lot of times in a lot of areas, but we don’t have to be.”
LEAKS TO MEDIA ABOUT FETTERMAN ARE A COORDINATED SMEAR CAMPAIGN, HILL COLLEAGUES SAYS
Gallego was referring to Fetterman’s stance on Israel, his suggestion that Democrats need to work with President Donald Trump, not against him, and occasionally voting for the president’s nominees when other Democrats won’t.
The senator, who spent more than a month in the neuropsychiatry unit at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in 2023 receiving treatment for depression, has also been the subject of several media stories recently that claim he has exhibited strange behavior that has concerned Democrats.
Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego said Saturday “there needs to be space” for Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman (Getty Inages)
“This is so blatantly coordinated,” media observer and Fox News contributor Joe Concha wrote on social media this week. He shared a link in his post to a Politico report claiming an internal Democratic poll found Fetterman’s popularity faltering in his part of the Keystone State.
The report claimed Fetterman had fallen below 50% in Democratic voter support in Pittsburgh, just a few miles west of Braddock, where he was previously mayor.
Fellow Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick, a Republican, called the reports “vicious, personal attacks.”
“He is authentic, decent, principled and a fighter,” McCormick said. “These disgraceful smears against him are not the John that I know and respect.”
Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas wrote, “The radical left is smearing him with dishonest, vicious attacks because he’s pro-Israel, and they only want reliable anti-Israel politicians.”
Sen. John Fetterman has been the subject of several media stories recently that claim he has exhibited erratic behavior, concerning Democrats. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
SENATOR SAYS DEMS ‘EAT THEIR OWN’ AS FETTERMAN FACES RENEWED SCRUTINY
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa posted to X, “The media ought to lay off Senator Fetterman.”
Gallego on Saturday warned that the GOP is defending Fetterman with the hope of bringing him further right.
“In the Marines, we call these f—-f— games,” Gallego said, according to Politico.
Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick, a Republican, called the reports “vicious, personal attacks,” adding of Fetterman, “He is authentic, decent, principled and a fighter. These disgraceful smears against him are not the John that I know and respect.” (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
When asked by an audience member during the town hall why he did a fundraiser with a pro-Trump businessman, Gallego said the man runs “the largest venture capital firm in Arizona.”
“We got so pure that we started kicking people out of the tent. It ends up there aren’t enough people in the tent to win elections,” he added.
But Gallego also had harsh words for the Trump administration.
“Be mad, stay mad and we fight,” he told Democrats during the town hall of how to deal with Trump’s presidency. “How do we fight? We fight them in the courts everywhere we can. We fight in the courts because we believe in the Constitution of the United States. You believe in it, and the country believes in it. … We believe in the United States.”
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Rainbow flags are flying in the South End as the neighborhood prepares to celebrate Boston’s LGBTQ community at Saturday’s Pride for the People Parade.
Three hundred different organizations with about 12,000 people are expected to participate in what will be the city’s nearly 60th Pride parade.
”There are still things that we are fighting for today, and so we want to remember those that fought before us,” said Adrianna Boulin, of Boston Pride for the People.
The Pride for the People Parade and Festival is happening Saturday in Boston, among other events across New England.
This year’s theme is Pride as Protest – 1776, and organizers say Pride will always be a protest.
“The fact that we are here, the fact that in the midst of what is really an attack LGBTQ people’s rights by legislatures across the country, by our own federal government — we’re here to protest and say we’re not going anywhere,” said Gary Daffin of Boston Pride for the People.
The parade is nearly 2 miles. It starts in Copley Square and works its way through a number of streets in the South End and the Back Bay before ending on Charles Street between the Public Garden and the Common.
Not going to the parade? Watch NBC10 Boston’s coverage wherever you get your news, starting at 11 a.m. Saturday.
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates are producing at the plate and its something they’ve done throughout this season.
The Pirates continued that in their most recent series vs. the Houston Astros at Daikin Park, scoring 24 total runs and winning two of three games in their first series of the month.
Pittsburgh won 10-6 in the series opener on June 2, fell 11-9 on June 3 and then won 5-1 in the series finale on June 4.
The Pirates put up good enough performances to win all three games from the plate and it’s the main reason they’ve had so much success this season.
Pirates Offense Takes Liftoff in Houston
The Pirates swept the Minnesota Twins at PNC Park, May 29-31, prior to this series and scored 25 total runs, marking 49 over the past six games, good for more than eight runs per contest.
Pittsburgh has shown their power this season and they hit six home runs vs. the Astros to keep it going.
Catcher Endy Rodríguez hit a two-run home run to tie the game up 2-2 in the second inning of the series opener, center fielder Oneil Cruz hit a three-run home run to give the Pirates a 5-4 lead in the sixth inning and then second baseman Brandon Lowe sealed the win with a three-run home run in the eighth inning to make it 9-4.
Fellow catcher Henry Davis hit the first grand slam of his career in the second game of the series to give the Pirates a 4-2 lead int he fourth inning and second baseman Nick Gonzales hit a two-run home run, his second of the season, extending the Pirates’ lead to 7-3 in the seventh inning.
Right fielder Ryan O’Hearn hit the sole home run in the series finale, a two-run home run to make it 4-0 in the sixth inning, and finished with three RBI in the victory.
Cruz had a great series in Houston, with six hits and four walks, while Gonzales also tied him with six hits and three RBI.
Outfielder Jake Mangum had four hits and two stolen bases in the series opener and played some solid defense in the series finale too.
Pirates Hitters vs. Astros
|
Player |
Hits/At-Bats |
Walks |
RBI |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Oneil Cruz |
6-for-14 |
4 |
3 |
|
Nick Gonzales |
6-for-13 |
1 |
3 |
|
Jake Mangum |
5-for-9 |
0 |
0 |
|
Ryan O’Hearn |
3-for-10 |
1 |
3 |
|
Brandon Lowe |
3-for-14 |
1 |
3 |
|
Bryan Reynolds |
2-for-12 |
2 |
1 |
|
Endy Rodríguez |
2-for-9 |
1 |
3 |
|
Jared Triolo |
1-for-9 |
4 |
1 |
The Pirates haven’t had to rely on just one person this season, as they’ve gotten contributions from almost everyone in the lineup on a consistent basis.
Pittsburgh saw that happen against Houston, with different players stepping up in different games to come through and provide runs and hits.
How Pirates Offense Stacks Up to Rest of MLB
The Pirates rank statistially amongst the best teams in baseball and are in the top five/top 10 teams in most categories.
Pirates 2026 Stats and NL/MLB ranking
|
Stat (Total) |
NL/MLB Ranking |
|---|---|
|
Hits (560) |
1st/1st |
|
OBP (.339) |
2nd/2nd |
|
Stolen Bases (62)/Batting Average (.256) |
3rd/3rd |
|
OPS (.744) |
3rd/4th) |
|
Walks (251)/Slugging % (.405) |
(3rd/5th) |
|
RBI (310)/Runs (325) |
4th/4th |
|
Home Runs (74) |
6th/10th |
It’s a dramatic change from last season, where they were arguably the worst hitting team in baseball, ranking dead-last or close to the bottom of most of these same statistical categories.
The offseason additions of O’Hearn and Lowe have been massive for the Pirates, both of whom have brought veteran leadership, but also great production at the plate.
O’Hearn has slashed .295/.371/.486 for an OPS of .857 in 48 games, with 51 hits, six doubles, nine home runs, 33 RBI and 20 walks to 39 strikeouts.
Lowe leads the Pirates and ranks 4th in the National League/11th in baseball with 15 home runs, eighth in the NL/16th in MLB with 40 RBI, seventh in NL/13th in MLB with a .532 slugging percentage and 10th in NL/20th in MLB with a .873 OPS.
Cruz is having a big rebound season and is slashing .269/.349/.482 for an OPS of .831 in 61 games, with 45 runs scored, 66 hits, 10 doubles, 14 home runs, 44 RBI and 20 stolen bases.
He is second in baseball with stolen bases, ranks tied for third in NL/tied for sixth in MLB in runs scored, tied for fifth in NL/tied for sixth in MLB in RBI, tied for 8th in NL/tied for 14th in MLB in hits, tied for seventh in NL/tied for 16th in MLB in home runs, while ranking 21st in baseball in slugging percentage and 25th in OPS.
Bryan Reynolds has also been excellent with his plate discipline, tied for the sixth-most walks in baseball (44) and has the ninth-best on-base percentage (.397), while Spencer Horwitz isn’t too far behind with the a .386 on-base percentage, 17th-best in baseball.
Gonzales has been one of the best hitters in baseball, with his .313 batting average eighth-best in MLB.
Rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin had a solid May and if the likes of Mangum, Rodríguez, Davis, fellow rookie Jhostynxon Garcia can join in more consistently, this Pirates lineup will continue playing a big role in a lot of wins the rest of the season.
Make sure to visit Pirates OnSI for the latest news, updates, interviews and insight on the Pittsburgh Pirates!
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