John Fetterman tells Maher that near-death experience ‘freed’ him to speak out, says progressivism 'left me’

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Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., appeared on "Real Time with Bill Maher" and explained his political evolution since being elected, insisting that progressivism "left me."

"Real Time" host Bill Maher began the interview, Friday by showering the freshman senator with praise for repeatedly bucking the far-left wing of the Democratic Party.

"When I see you, especially the last couple of years, you speak so freely," Maher told Fetterman. "You speak like what politicians who I get on this show- who aren't in politics anymore, the ones who are out of office when they can be honest and that's the way you speak now and it's a beautiful thing."

"You speak for a lot of Democrats that are afraid to say a lot of that stuff. I mean, it's a lot of release for a lot of Democrats to be able to be like "Thank God, someone's actually platforming that."

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The liberal comedian then asked Fetterman whether his shift in various policies had anything to do with his recovery from his 2022 stroke, asking if his near-death experience had given him a "freedom."

"Absolutely," Fetterman responded. "There's a line from the first 'Batman,' Joker's like ‘I’ve been dead once already. It's very liberating.'"

"It's freeing in a way. And I just think after beating all of that, I just really [want to] be able to