MAGA is turning its back on Democratic Sen. John Fetterman after he said he would not support Republicans’ signature voting legislation.
Fetterman, who has been adopted by the GOP for his frequent allegiance to the party’s objectives, said on Wednesday that he would not vote for the SAVE Act, which would require states to mandate voters provide proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections and provide photo ID to cast a ballot.
Trump has called for the bill to be amended to attach a ban on mail-in voting, which he has railed against for years, making the unfounded claim that absentee ballots lead to widespread voter fraud.
“I don’t support it…in its current state,” Fetterman told CBS News.
“The president is constantly critical on mail-in voting, and that’s ridiculous,” Fetterman said. “It’s safe. Some of the best examples in the country are from red states like Ohio and Florida.”
Fetterman has often sided with Republicans on legislative issues—at times frustrating his own party—including voting with the GOP over government shutdown fights, supporting Trump’s war in Iran, and voting in favor of several Trump cabinet nominations.
The Pennsylvania Senator told Fox News last year that he was “going to be an independent voice in the Democratic Party,” after being asked whether he would switch to the GOP. Instead, Fetterman said that he would maintain, “independent thinking and views wherever I happen to believe the truth, regardless if it’s the Republican or the Democratic voice.”
Republicans do not have enough votes to pass the SAVE Act in the Senate as it currently stands, so MAGA is taking out some of their anger on Fetterman for not giving them a one-vote boost.
Some MAGA personalities, including the coalition’s voter mobilization darling Scott Presler, have made posts reminding voters that Fetterman is up for reelection in two years.
“I hope Fetterman knows Dems will STILL primary him out even if he covers for their cheating. VOTE YEA, FETTERMAN!,” conservative media poster Eric Daughtery said without providing evidence of the so-called “cheating.”
Right-wing social media personality Mike Cernovich posted, “Fetterman is a lib who supports wars. When people claim he is ‘reasonable,’ that’s a tell.”
Popular MAGA account “Suburban Black Man” said, “Fetterman may sound level-headed and reasonable at times, but his recent statements against the SAVE America Act prove that he is still a slimy Democrat at the end of the day.”
MAGA has additionally been fuming at Senate Majority Leader John Thune, going as far as to call him “traitorous” for stalling on bringing the SAVE Act to a vote on the Senate floor.
While the SAVE Act has already passed the House, Thune has repeatedly said the legislation does not have the 60 votes needed in the Senate and has resisted calls to dismantle the filibuster to pass the bill.
“There are no easy ways to do this,” Thune said Tuesday. “Believe me, we’ve examined all the options.”
Thune has scheduled the bill to be voted on the Senate floor next week, but warned that he cannot “guarantee an outcome on this legislation.”
In addition to a nationwide ban on mail-in ballots, Trump has also repeatedly demanded provisions added to the bill that were not included in the House-approved text, such as “NO MEN IN WOMEN’S SPORTS” and “NO TRANSGENDER MUTILIZATION [sic] FOR CHILDREN.”
He’s also spent time complaining about the bill’s name, ranting on Truth Social earlier this week, “It’s not the Save Act, it’s The Save America Act! A MUCH better, and more important, name!!!”
