Conspiracy Theorists Think A US Senator Is Using A Body Double, And Twitter Is Having A Field Day
This is US Senator John Fetterman from Pennsylvania. As you can see, he has quite an untraditional look for a senator — from his height, to the way he dresses, to his facial hair.
On August 19, Senator Fetterman shared a picture of his new facial hair after shaving his signature beard and growing a mustache. Although Fetterman's tweet and new look seems pretty innocuous, it caught the attention of right-wing conspiracy theorists who believe Senator John Fetterman is actually being replaced with a series of body doubles.
Lost a bet with Karl 🥸 pic.twitter.com/D9XKEYHivj
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) August 19, 2023
@JohnFetterman / Via Twitter: @JohnFetterman
This conspiracy theory — which is completely false — first emerged in early 2023, when Senator Fetterman received inpatient treatment for clinical depression. After just over six weeks, Fetterman was discharged from Walter Reed Hospital, and right-wing accounts began openly theorizing that the person claiming to be Senator Fetterman was someone else entirely.
According to TIME, Fetterman "continued to decline" in the first few weeks of his hospitalization. "He stopped shaving and showering. His normally bare head grew fuzzy; his fingernails were like claws; he didn’t get out of his pajamas. Seeing his face in the mirror, he didn’t recognize himself."
Nearly six months later, Senator Fetterman's new mustache has revived the right-wing body double conspiracy.
👻 oooOoooooOooo https://t.co/34cxg8TFUU
— Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) September 12, 2023
@lizbrownkaiser / Via Twitter: @SenFettermanPA
Twitter users are naturally having a field day making fun of the completely absurd "this is not John Fetterman" conspiracy. Here are 22 of the best jokes.
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22.And finally, Twitter user @Srirachachau asked an EXTREMELY valid question about our largest, most imposing US senator:
