Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., on Wednesday accused Democratic voters of becoming “increasingly anti-American” amid calls for U.S. military intervention in Venezuela, Iran and Cuba.
Reason’s Nick Gillespie asked Fetterman, who endorsed democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (R-Vt.) in 2016, what he thinks about his politics on the Reason Interviews podcast.
“Well, I mean, you know, in 2016, it’s more about the minimum wage and some other very basic things,” Fetterman said. “Now it’s become more about siding with Cuba, siding with Venezuela, siding with the Iranian regime, which to me is becoming more and more anti-American. So, my views really haven’t changed that much.”
Fetterman said his political views have not changed, citing his support for marriage equality as an example.
“What has really changed is the political parties,” he continued. “In 2024, I’m running as a Democrat for Kamala Harris. It’s clear we’re going to lose. A lot of the excesses we had in 2020 are coming back… when the excesses in the party beckoned for a second term of the Trump administration.”
Fetterman also noted that union members and their leaders have shifted from supporting Democrats (a tradition since the New Deal era) to supporting President Trump.
“Now I think we can actually count that a lot of traditional union members have left the Democratic Party,” the Pennsylvania Democrat said. “That’s where we are now. We’ve had a serious realignment of parts of the base.”
Fetterman insists he has “not changed” since taking over former Sen. Pat Toomey’s (R-Pa.) seat in 2022. He argued in a recent op-ed in The Washington Post that elected Democrats “cannot simply contradict what President Donald Trump says.”
“I would be a terrible Republican but still vote overwhelmingly for Democrats,” he wrote in an op-ed about the idea of switching parties.
He has also been outspoken about feeling “alone” within his own party, especially given his support for Israel and border security. The centrist Democrat singled out colleagues who oppose the rapid development of artificial intelligence and data centers, calling their opposition “crazy.”
Fetterman also disputed claims by several Democrats and former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) that Israel committed genocide that resulted in the deaths of more than 70,000 Palestinians in Gaza. He called Greene a “madman” and dismissed claims of 2025 genocide.
“This is not genocide, you know, it’s not that,” he told reporters at the time about Greene’s comments. “She’s entitled to her opinion, but I’m entitled to not care what she thinks about it.”
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