Constituents are ‘livid’ with Fetterman after Trump convention video and other behavior, says Rep. Madeleine Dean

DALLAS, Texas — Just steps away from a Republican midterm convention that she slammed as a “farce,” U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean (D., Montgomery) said Thursday she was “gravely disappointed” with Democratic U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s participation in the event — as well as a range of other issues that she said indicate his abandonment of democratic values.

“What I wish he was doing was — back home in Pennsylvania — making sure, like I am, that Pennsylvania will see more Democratic members of the House to uphold the values that he originally ran on,” Dean said after Fetterman appeared in a video at the convention Wednesday night that praised President Donald Trump.

Fetterman’s appearance was a remarkable and rare turn for a Democratic lawmaker, even one who has frequently crossed the aisle to support the opposing party like he’s done since Trump returned to office.

In a video that served as an introduction to a speech by U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick (R., Pa.), Fetterman said he and McCormick are able to “work with President Trump to fight and defend the steel way of life” in Pennsylvania.

As he’s done repeatedly, he also denounced socialism and what he considers the “anti-American way of life” that the leftist wing of his party represents. That message fit nicely into some of Republicans’ most prominent attacks on Wednesday as they tried to motivate their base to turn out for GOP candidates in the midterm elections — including in several Pennsylvania key races.

On Thursday, a web page soliciting donations to Fetterman’s campaign committee included a link to the video and said Fetterman would “keep standing his ground, speaking his mind, and putting Pennsylvania first.”

Fetterman said in a statement later that he made the video to support McCormick, who has become a staunch ally and one of his biggest defenders. He also said, as he has for months, that would not switch parties.

“That’s entirely on John,” Dean said Thursday when asked by a reporter if Fetterman should remain in the Democratic Party. “I will tell you, from the ground, from suburban Philadelphia, my constituents are livid. Those who went out and knocked doors for him, they are absolutely livid.”

Dean was in town on the second and final day of the convention alongside four other House Democrats who blasted what they were hearing from the gathering, which has largely been a celebration of Trump.

But Dean was quickly asked by reporters about the convention’s most surprising turn so far — the appearance of Pennsylvania’s controversial Democratic senator.

Dean has, historically, had a closer relationship with Fetterman compared to some of the other Democratic members of Pennsylvania’s U.S. House delegation. The pair briefly ran against each other in the 2018 lieutenant governor primary, which Fetterman won. Dean said it was then that she grew to “really like him and his family, and his values.”

Those values, she said, have taken a turn in more ways than one. She criticized his convention video as a “stunt” while saying she was mostly disappointed by his work ethic, his decisions to back Trump policies, and his “blind support” of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attacks in Gaza.

“All I want is for his good health, his well being. And that has been my worry,” Dean said in an interview after the press conference, referring to Fetterman’s well-documented health struggles.

“But I think you have to look at his record, and his record of not working, of not participating, and not caucusing with Democrats, of not being active in his committees — alongside what he is active on, [which] is voting alongside Mr. Trump, and enabling this corruption of chaos,” she said.

Dean is one of several Pennsylvania Democrats who have ramped up their public concerns about Fetterman, with some essentially promising to oust him if he runs for reelection in 2028.

“He’s not going to be a senator after 2028 — mark my words,” U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, an Allegheny County Democrat who is a potential candidate for the seat, after the video.

Dean did not comment on the next election other than saying “voters will have to decide whether that is appropriate” for Fetterman to conduct himself the way he has, including associating closely with Israeli leadership.

Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, who has clashed with Fetterman but hasn’t heavily criticized his job performance as a senator, said Thursday he did not see the video. The governor said at an event in Chester he was “not going to get distracted” from his duties as governor and his reelection campaign.