Sen. John Fetterman has often been called President Donald Trump’s “favorite Democrat,” a reputation he continued to live up to in recent comments highlighted in a Fox News report, defending the president’s supporters and warning his colleagues on the left against calling them “fascists.”
Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, was first elected to the Senate in the 2022 midterms, which saw the party buck historical trends and actually grow their majority in the chamber, rather than lose it. Since then, however, he has emerged as a major thorn in the party’s side, abandoning the seemingly progressive bona fides he campaigned on in favor of opposing Democrats’ more ambitious goals, while also occasionally speaking in support of proposals from Trump and the GOP.
Fetterman’s latest comments came during the Tuesday edition of the “Impaulsive” podcast, hosted by internet star and noted Trump supporter, Logan Paul. During the appearance, the senator trashed his colleagues for campaigning too much on anti-Trump stances and chastised the idea of calling GOP voters “fascists,” but did not specify which Democrats, or how many, he had heard saying this.
“Some Democrats now are actually running on the ‘f—— Trump’ — I mean literally, that’s in some of their commercials, you know, honestly,” Fetterman said. “And this idea — and if you call someone on their side as, like, ‘they’re fascists,’ then that means that people that I know, and I love that voted for him, you know, that must be — they are fascists. And they are not. These are good people. They love our country no less than they do. It’s just having different views and, you know, trying to find a way forward in a deeply divided country… I refuse to do that. People forgot that we’re all Americans, and we actually need each other.”
The senator continued, touching on an invite to a dinner he received from Trump in 2025: “I was excited. I was like, ‘Hey, great. We have an invitation. Sure. I can’t wait. This will be great.’ You know, I love to have conversations… There’s no Democrats reaching across the aisle right now… The Democrats are angry at me because, more and more, the Democratic Party, the base, really wants more ‘F—— Trump’ kind of a thing. So, my votes are — my values are reflected in the votes. But overall, I’ll be an example that people can say, ‘Well, at least they’ll do it in a respectful way,’ and be a reasonable or a common-sense thing in the middle of the insanity here.”
Fetterman’s stances have put him in the odd position of having moderately positive approval among Republicans, but tanking approval among his own party’s base. He is not up for reelection until 2028 and is expected to face a concerted effort from party leaders and voters to replace him with someone else. Despite this situation, Fetterman has dismissed the suggestion that he might opt to switch his party affiliation to Republican.