John Fetterman fired back at Tucker Carlson’s “fake” tattoos insult as he explained that they each represent a victim killed by violent crime while he was a Pennsylvania mayor.
The right-wing Fox News host had mocked Mr Fetterman’s tattoos as he tried to portray the Democratic candidate for US Senate as weak on crime.
“All your stupid little fake tattoos, it’s a costume, of course. Duh, it’s not real,” claimed Mr Carson on his show earlier this month.
Mr Fetterman, who leads Donald Trump’s pick Dr Mehmet Oz in polling ahead of the November election, was mayor of Braddock, Pennsylvania, before becoming the states lieutenant governor.
“Tucker Carlson wants to talk about my tattoos. So let’s talk about them,” Mr Fetterman wrote in an editorial for NBC News.
“I have nine dates tattooed on my right forearm. Each one is a day on which someone died violently in Braddock, Pennsylvania, while I was mayor.
“Gun violence and violent crime might be jokes to someone like Carlson, but they are very real to people in towns like Braddock.”
In the op-ed, Mr Fetterman detailed some of the killings that he has commemorated on his arm.
These include the slaying of Christopher Williams, “shot dead delivering pizzas,” and 23-month-old Nyia Page, who was sexually assaulted by her father, then left to die in the snow. “They are not some ‘costume.’ They are reminders of the people we have lost and what I am fighting for,” he wrote.
And he added: “The stories of the people whose lives we tragically lost still are with me every single day — not just on my arm but in every decision I make as an elected official. They remind me of why I am here and why I’m doing this.”
Mr Fetterman also has “15104,” Braddock’s ZIP code, tattooed on his left arm.
