“I’m not changing,” he told Politico in an interview published Monday. “I’m a Democrat, and I’m staying one.... I’d be a shitty Republican.”
Some would say Fetterman has been a pretty shitty Democrat too, fueling this Republican effort to get him to switch sides.
Since first running for office as a Bernie Sanders–backed progressive eight years ago, and keeping up the facade in his 2022 Senate campaign, Fetterman has gone out of his way to offer rhetorical and legislative support for President Trump’s agenda while spiting the left flank that helped him secure his Senate seat. He was the very first Senate Democrat to meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, and has defended the actions of federal immigration agents, saying that any calls to abolish ICE were “inappropriate and outrageous.” He is the only Democrat who voted against curtailing Trump’s war powers in Iran, and he is one of the staunchest supporters of Israel in the Senate. In one conversation last year, he reportedly proclaimed, “Let’s get back to killing,” referring to Israel’s genocide of Palestinians. “Kill them all.” Fetterman later denied the account.