In Stunning Move, Fetterman Addresses GOP Midterm Convention, Praising Pennsylvania’s Republican Senator

In a decision that shocked countless Democrats, Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania on Wednesday addressed the GOP’s midterm convention via pretaped video, praising his Republican counterpart, Senator Dave McCormick, and pledging to work with the president. Mr. Fetterman received a round of applause when Mr. McCormick asked the crowd how “great” Mr. Fetterman is. Mr. Fetterman, elected as a progressive Democrat in 2022, turned against the left-wing elements of his party in late 2023 after the Hamas attacks on Israel. Since then, he has attacked fellow Democrats for endorsing progressive candidates, including some who are members of the Democratic Socialists of America. The Democrat from Pennsylvania cut the video to introduce Mr. McCormick, and even praised him as a “great senator.”Mr. Fetterman’s decision to appear via video was first reported by Axios. “Yes, I’m Senator John Fetterman [from] Pennsylvania. Yes, I’m a Democrat,” he said, wearing his famous hoodie in the direct-to-camera video. “Why am I here talking to you today? Because, well, I’m a commonsense Democrat. I’m always gonna stand with America. I’m always gonna reject the extremes and socialism and that anti-American way of life.”“Dave McCormick is the kind of senator that gets the job done, and he’s going to fight for Pennsylvania. I’m proud to count him as my friend,” Mr. Fetterman said. As a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2016, for lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania in 2018, and later again as a Senate candidate in 2022, Mr. Fetterman presented himself as a populist progressive able to represent a part of the country that was increasingly moving toward Mr. Trump and Republicans. He was endorsed by Senator Bernie Sanders during his run. In the video, he is standing in front of a steel mill built by U.S. Steel. “Right back over my shoulder, that’s the iconic U.S. Steel mill, and that’s exactly the kind of thing that we’ll work together [on] and we’ll work with President Trump to fight and defend the steel way of life right here in the Steel Valley,” Mr. Fetterman said before turning to talk again about Mr. McCormick.“I have the opportunity to introduce this great American, a great senator, and yes, he’s in a different party, but I’m proud to count him as my great friend,” he said. After coming on stage in-person at the Dallas convention, Mr. McCormick made sure to thank his colleague. “How great is John Fetterman, right?” Mr. McCormick said, eliciting cheers from the Republican audience. “Thank you, Senator Fetterman, thank you for your courage, and thank you for all you do for Pennsylvania,” Mr. McCormick told the crowd. Mr. Fetterman has threatened to leave his party before, however, and that threat could have serious implications if Democrats are able to win a one-seat Senate majority this year. If Democrats are able to win a net of four seats in the upper chamber, then they will take the majority. If Mr. Fetterman did switch parties in that situation, then the majority would fall back to the Republicans in a 50–50 tie, with Vice President JD Vance acting as the tiebreaker. Despite those past threats, Mr. Fetterman said in a statement on Wednesday night that he would not leave his party should Democrats take control at the beginning of next year. “I’m a lifelong Democrat who votes overwhelmingly with my party,” he wrote. The White House was clearly pleased with Mr. Fetterman’s performance, calling him “Based John Fetterman” in an X post from the rapid response account — a sign that the president would be more than happy to welcome the Pennsylvania Democrat into his party. Mr. Fetterman has said in the past that he would leave in one specific scenario — if the Democrats ever became the “anti-Israel party.”“If our party ever becomes — and just makes it official — the anti-Israel party, that’s when I would leave because that’s been a moral clarity for me,” Mr. Fetterman said earlier this year at an in-person conference put on by The Hill. The majority leader, Senator John Thune, said after those comments that Mr. Fetterman would be more than “welcome” in the Senate GOP Conference. “Yes, we would welcome him,” Mr. Thune said at a press conference with a laugh. “I haven’t talked to him recently. I have had conversations with him in the past, as have many of my colleagues about the challenges that he faces in his caucus.”

In Stunning Move, Fetterman Addresses GOP Midterm Convention, Praising Pennsylvania’s Republican Senator

In Stunning Move, Fetterman Addresses GOP Midterm Convention, Praising Pennsylvania’s Republican Senator

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