(Headline USA) The Left is turning on Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., after the senator came out against them on several key issues, admitting that he is “not a progressive.”
Fetterman has been vocally supportive of Israel in its war against Hamas since Oct. 7, which has separated him from some of the more radical Democrats in Congress, such as the “Squad.”
He has also publicly criticized Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., after the senior senator was federally indicted on bribery charges.
And most recently, Fetterman acknowledged Democrats need to tackle the immigration issue, arguing against the Left’s radical open-border policies.
“It’s a reasonable conversation, until somebody can say there’s an explanation on what we can do when 270,000 people [per month] are being encountered on the border—not including the ones, of course, that we don’t know about,” Fetterman said last week. “To put that in reference, that is essentially the size of Pittsburgh, the second-largest city in Pennsylvania.”
When asked about his controversial positions, Fetterman said his party had the wrong idea about what kind of Democrat is.
“I just think I’m a Democrat that is very committed to ‘choice’ and other things,” he told NBC News, ostensibly using the Left’s sanitized euphemism for the systemic dismemberment and murder of preborn infants.
“But with Israel, I’m going to be on the right side of that,” he added. “And immigration is something near and dear to me, and I think we do have to effectively address it as well.”
In response, progressives accused Fetterman of betraying the cause after “pretending” to align himself with the Left for years.
The New Republic, a leftist outlet, pointed to a 2022 endorsement of Fetterman by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and a number of leftist policies, such as universal healthcare and a wealth tax, that Fetterman made a part of his campaign.
The publication also cited statements Fetterman made throughout his career in Pennsylvania politics, including a 2016 tweet in which he declared: “We have started a progressive movement here in Pennsylvania.”
In an additional post, Fetterman added, “It’s not going away. We’re not going away, This isn’t over. This is not how our story ends.”
It's not going away. We're not going away. This isn't over. This is not how our story ends.
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) April 27, 2016
At the time, Fetterman was serving as the mayor of Braddock, Pa., while running in the primary race for the Senate seat that he would eventually fill, replacing the retiring incumbent, Pat Toomey, a Republican.
Fetterman’s seat gave Democrats their only pickup in the 2022 midterm election, but it was enough to secure an outright majority without having to resort to using Vice President Kamala Harris as the tiebreaking vote to advance their radical agenda.
But Fetterman’s flip-flop casts further doubt on the Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s ability to move legislation through the upper chamber, particularly as several other “centrist” Democrats find themselves in politically vulnerable spots ahead of the 2024 election.
Fetterman’s chief of staff, Adam Jentleson, defended the senator, arguing that he has “always had” these positions.
“He’s just being consistent.” Jentleson told NBC. “He spent the entire campaign telling people he wasn’t a down-the-line lefty.”
