GOP rallies around embattled Democratic Sen. John Fetterman

A trio of Republican senators came to the defense of their Democratic colleague John Fetterman on Friday, accusing the media of a smear campaign.Why it matters: It's unusual to see this level of public defense for a member of the opposing party. But the GOP's distrust and distaste of the media is superseding political differences.A string of news articles, including from Axios, have revealed concerns from people close to the senator about whether the Pennsylvania Democrat's long-acknowledged mental health issues are affecting his work. 1️⃣ Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) was first to publicly push back, calling to "stop these vicious, personal attacks against Senator Fetterman, his wife, and his health.""He is authentic, decent, principled, and a fighter. These disgraceful smears against him are not the John that I know and respect," McCormick wrote in a X post on Friday.2️⃣ Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), chair of the Senate GOP conference, called Fetterman a "decent and genuine guy." "The radical left is smearing him with dishonest, vicious attacks because he's pro-Israel and they only want reliable anti-Israel politicians," Cotton said. 3️⃣ Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) posted: "The media ought to lay off Senator Fetterman."Between the lines: Multiple Senate GOP sources argued that Fetterman was just being attacked by people in his own party because of his staunch pro-Israel stance, and a handful of votes with Republicans.Coverage of politicians' health is a touchy subject right now, especially with former President Biden making his first press tour since leaving office. Some sources said the Fetterman health concerns should have been litigated in 2022 after his stroke, and that unlike Biden, senators interact with Fetterman themselves.The bottom line: One source simply said they weren't surprised by the defense because Republicans are used to what they see as unfair negative coverage.

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