Senate candidate vacationed on taxpayer funds while pushing lockdowns, records show

Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor and U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman used taxpayer money to vacation on the Jersey Shore while advocating for harsh lockdowns, reports the Washington Free Beacon. 

Pennsylvania State Police reportedly doled out $3,500 on food, lodging and overtime during the vacation from June 24-June 27, 2020, while the Pennsylvania Department of Health had already cautioned residents against non-essential travel. 

Just two days prior, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy had vowed to crack down on partygoers at the Jersey Shore. 

Fetterman’s vacation came a month after the lieutenant governor went on CNN praising lockdowns, saying that counties which open up “do so at the peril of their residents,” and that “there could be additional fallout” for local officials who defy PA Governor Tom Wolf’s lockdown mandate. He also criticized a “small, tiny minority of individuals” who were against the lockdowns. 

Furthermore, while Fetterman pushed masks, photos from his vacation show him on the Ocean City boardwalk without one. 

Fetterman has also relentlessly pushed vaccinations. 

“Let’s vax up, Pennsylvania,” he wrote in September 2021. “It’s tragic the Covid vaccine has become so political: it’s costing PA lives and wholly preventable hospitalization,” he added. 

“My entire family is vaccinated + boosted,” the 52-year-old tweeted in April. “Vaccines + effective treatments are safe, and still the key to getting us out of this new phase of the pandemic.” 

Less than a month later, Fetterman suffered a stroke from which he “almost died” and is recovering before he returns to the campaign trail, where he will face Trump-endorsed Dr. Mehmet Oz in November. 

Fetterman joins a long list of politicians who took the “Rules for thee but not for me” approach throughout COVID, including failed gubernatorial candidate Stacy Abrams who was photographed unmasked while surrounded by masked children. 

California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti also made the list when they were photographed maskless at a California stadium in February as they rubbed elbows with celebrities such as Magic Johnson.  

After being met with backlash, Newsom simply lied and said he only took the mask off for the photograph, and Garcetti claimed he held his breath for the photo.