Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman was pressed on whether he would consider switching to the GOP during an appearance on Fox News.
“We know that there’s been real extremists who have tried to hijack the Democratic Party, and whether it’s policy or the way they talk,” Maria Bartiromo said on her show. “You’ve seen it on the right in some cases as well, but on the left, you’ve got such extremes, would you consider switching parties?”
Fetterman, who has been asked about his allegiances before, shot down suggestions that he wants to defect across the aisle.
“No, no, I’m not going to switch,” Fetterman said. “But I’m just going to be an independent voice in the Democratic Party. I’m not going to be afraid of people.”
Fetterman, who painted himself as a progressive during his 2022 campaign for Senate, has since broken with this faction of the Democratic Party on multiple issues, including his staunch support of Israel during the war in Gaza.
He has also been eager to work with Republicans, becoming the first Senate Democrat to meet President Donald Trump after his 2024 election victory, and voting to confirm several of the president’s nominees, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
Speaking to Bartiromo, Fetterman said there are other areas where he is determined to differentiate himself from the Democratic Party, such as the use of inflammatory rhetoric and threats to force a looming government shutdown.
“If you want a Democrat that’s going to call people Nazis or fascists or all these kinds of things, well, I’m not going to be that guy,” Fetterman said.
“Independent thinking and views wherever I happen to believe the truth, regardless if it’s the Republican or the Democratic voice.
“In this truth right now, it’s firmly on Israel through this, and it’s also always wrong to shut our government down. That’s where my voice is, and if that puts me as an outlier, that’s where I am,” he added.
Fetterman will be up for re-election in November 2028 if he seeks a second term in office.
There were previously calls for the senator, who suffered a stroke in 2022, to resign over concerns about his ability to carry out his job and his allegedly erratic and sometimes manic behavior after reportedly coming off his antidepressants.
The Daily Beast has contacted Fetterman’s office for comment.
