Like the Media Research Center, WorldNetDaily has flip-flopped on its treatment of Sen. John Fetterman as the Democrat began to spout more right-wing views. On top of its whining about a lawsuit he filed to ensure that all votes are counted, it also took aim at his recovery from a stroke:
- James Zumwalt declared in a December 2022 column that “Fetterman, whose mental abilities, after a May 2022 stroke, to deal with serious issues of his office are questionable, will generate similar concerns once he is sworn in on Jan. 3.”
- Zumwalt followed up in a March 2023 column by complaining about “Fetterman’s possible inability to function either physically or mentally to perform the responsibilities of the office to which he was elected” and adding:L “Questions remain over whether Fetterman has suffered brain damage. The situation is serious enough that Republicans now are demanding the senator appear on camera to prove he is still “alive and well” or resign if he is unable to do so.”
In a November 2025 article, Joe Kovacs demonstrated the flip-flop in progress by covering Fetterman’s recovery from a fall but waiting until the 14th paragraph to mention that he suffered a stroke. By a March 18 article by Kovacs, the flip-flop was complete:
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D- Pa., is shredding his fellow Democrat, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, for allegedly smearing investigative journalist Nick Shirley, who has been exposing massive fraud in the Golden State and across America.
As WorldNetDaily reported, Shirley launched his latest video Monday evening uncovering astronomical fraud in California, focusing on alleged fake hospices in Los Angeles and fraudulent daycare centers in San Diego.
“Minnesota was big but California is even bigger,” said Shirley. “We uncovered over $170,000,000 in fraud as these fraudsters live in luxury with no consequences. Like it and share it, the fraud must STOP.”
Late Monday night, Newsom’s press office posted a creepy A.I. image possibly depicting the 23-year-old Shirley as a pedophile, as Shirley is shown packing numerous cameras at a daycare saying, “Hey, can I see your kids?”
As we’ve noted, WND’s right-wing fellow travelers at the MRC refused to fact-check Shirley’s claims — something of a necessity given that his methods have been questioned, such as visiting daycare centers after hours.
WND followed up in an anonymously written May 11 article:
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., joined Bill Maher on his podcast Monday to discuss a variety of issues, both agreeing that President Trump is to be admired for his “horrifying” but also “refreshing” honesty.
“The honesty – as someone who loves honesty and has made my career about it as much as I could – there’s some level of it where you tip your hat and go ‘Wow, total honesty,'” Maher said on his show “Club Random.”
Both men laughed as they recounted Trump’s Air Force One rebuke last year, where he told a female reporter, “Quiet, Piggy.”
“That’s the president of America!” Fetterman said.
Neither Maher nor Fetterman explained Trump’s insults should be considered “refreshing.”
Kovacs returned to tout Fetterman again in a June 14 article:
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., is now urging top media to confront Democrat U.S. Senate nominee Graham Platner of Maine about explosive sexting allegations on the “predator’s playground” app Kik.
“He’s a bona fide dirtbag. I mean, without a doubt,” Fetterman told NBC’s Kristen Welker of “Meet The Press Now.”
“This is a guy that’s been dropping d*ck pics on Kik for a decade, you know. And now you’re, you know, you’re a journalist. You all know what Kik is for. And, you know, they have significant problems about being, you know, the predator’s playground for their, you know. Why can’t someone, perhaps you ask him, why did you choose Kik of all the different apps?
None of these articles mentioned that Fetterman suffered a stroke — WND is just happy that he gives them cover as a Democratic politician saying right-wing things.