Conor Lamb, John Fetterman's former primary opponent, says the senator 'talks about bombing and killing like it's a video game'

Aliya Schneider, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Jun 20, 2025

Published in News & Features

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PHILADELPHIA — Former U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb spoke out against his former primary opponent Sen. John Fetterman’s stance on Iran as President Donald Trump weighs military action against the country.

In a scathing post on X this week, Lamb said Fetterman has “gone a long way on vibes” and that the senator’s comments on Iran are “embarrassing.”

Lamb lost the Democratic primary to Fetterman in 2022 and has been reinvigorating his political profile in recent months.

The former House Democrat’s criticism of Fetterman was in response to a post from a Fox News reporter who said on X that Fetterman said he will vote against a resolution that would require congressional debate and approval prior to any U.S. involvement in the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel and that he hopes Trump “finally does bomb and destroy the Iranians.”

Fetterman responded to the post from Fox News correspondent Chad Pergram to clarify that he meant “destroying the Iranian regime,” not its citizens.

“Free the Iranian citizens from this cancerous, repressive and authoritarian regime,” Fetterman said.

But Lamb, a veteran, lawyer and teacher, already ripped into Fetterman’s reported comment about 30 minutes before his clarification.

“He’s gone a long way on vibes, finally meets an issue that requires the input of serious people and he talks about bombing and killing like it’s a video game,” Lamb said. “I would say it’s embarrassing but if you think about the human lives involved it’s far worse than that.”

Regardless of whether Fetterman’s comments were misinterpreted, the Democratic senator already expressed support for Israel bombing Iran to go after its nuclear facilities, and said the United States should support the endeavor.

Lamb flipped a Western Pennsylvania congressional district in 2018 — now held by U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Pa. — before competing against Fetterman in the 2022 U.S. Senate primary. He garnered a distant second with 26% of the vote behind Fetterman’s 58% in that race.

Lamb has also been critical of Fetterman’s lack of town halls and begun attending and holding some himself, including in Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry’s purple district this weekend.

Meanwhile, as Fetterman makes headlines over concerns over his health and behavior, political observers have speculated whether he could be vulnerable to a primary challenge in the future.

Lamb has said he does not plan to challenge Fetterman in the 2028 primary — but there’s plenty of time for that to change.

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