From the article:
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 say the things that I have to really believe in and not be afraid of if there’s any kind of blowback.”
So basically yes, the stroke made him a Republican. Pathetic and disappointing, but all too predictable.
Or what he’s really saying is that he never believed what he said before but felt pressured into agreeing with an ideology. And now that he knows the worst that can ever happen to him is death, and that’s alright, he is a lot more candid. That doesn’t agree with progressivisms mentality of agree with the correct thing or be shut up.