Sen. John Fetterman — again — says he won’t leave the Democratic Party in late-night interview
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman said he's a "committed Democrat" during a late-night talk show interview Friday. His comments followed renewed speculation of a party switch.
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.) doubled down in a late-night talk show interview Friday, saying he won’t leave the Democratic Party despite tensions with peers and party leaders.
“I’m a committed Democrat,” Fetterman said during HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, on the heels of a Washington Post opinion piece this week in which the senator again reaffirmed he isn’t changing his party affiliation.
“I thought we were supposed to be a big tent party, so I’m not really sure how I become an issue for any of the Democrats just having some different views in these other issues,” he said.
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Renewed speculation about a potential party switch has followed the senator: Pennsylvania’s GOP chair recently indicated that supporting Fetterman’s reelection wouldn’t be off the table if he switched parties, and President Donald Trump reportedly asked Fox News host Sean Hannity to urge Fetterman to become a Republican in exchange for his support.
While Fetterman votes with his party the majority of the time, the senator has publicly deviated from Democrats on high-profile issues, including government shutdowns, the Iran war, immigration enforcement, and stricter border security. He’s also consistently voted for Trump’s cabinet nominees and criticized some Democrats for their contempt for the president.
Fetterman said in the interview that his values haven’t changed but rather the Democratic Party “really has changed and kinda put [him] at odds.” He denounced left-wing politicians who call themselves socialists and Democrats who campaign on an anti-Trump platform.
“As someone that is a committed Democrat, I find myself isolated by my party,” he said. “As things continue, I’m going to just play balls, strikes.”
During the conversation with Maher, Fetterman also expressed his support for Trump’s White House ballroom in the wake of the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. Fetterman, who was at the event last month, said the incident underscored the need for a “more secure” venue, echoing assertions by Trump and Republicans. The news media group has not said it would hold an event in the White House.
In a segment of the show posted to YouTube, Fetterman also said a faction of the Democratic Party has isolated male voters by calling them “part of the problem” or saying they have “toxic traits.” According to a Pew Research Center report, during the 2024 presidential election, men — especially men under 50 — backed Trump by larger margins.
“If you identify anyone as the problem or blame them for somethings, then you’re gonna lose,” he said of Democrats. “We forgot that we are in the business of addition not subtraction.”