Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., drew laughter from the crowd at the Texas Tribune Festival on Saturday when he accidentally referred to himself as a “lifelong Republican” before quickly correcting the mistake.
The slip came after an attendee asked Fetterman why he doesn’t simply run as an independent. “Because I’m a lifelong Republican,” he said, catching himself immediately. “I guarantee you that will break through. That will get clipped.”
Fetterman had given a keynote address earlier in the event where he criticized both major parties. He said he has no personal reason to leave the Democratic Party for the Republican side, but suggested the GOP’s “big tent” makes room for positions he finds troubling.
“I don’t have a reason to,” Fetterman said of joining Republicans. “But for a big-tent situation, it’s easier to be included in that big tent to say America deserved 9/11 or America is worse than Al-Qaida than being very proud to stand on the side of Israel.”
He also said he believes he has “no path as a Republican,” while acknowledging that a number of Democrats are frustrated with his willingness to work across the aisle. “If the Democratic Party votes me out or expels me, they’re always entitled to do that,” he said.
Speculation about Fetterman’s party loyalty has grown since he floated leaving his caucus and appeared in a video introducing fellow Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick, a Republican, at the Republican National Committee’s midterm convention earlier this month. Despite that, he has repeatedly said he remains a Democrat even as some in the party have pushed to force him out.
Fetterman won his Senate seat in 2022 after defeating Dr. Mehmet Oz, helping Democrats secure a narrow majority while running on a progressive platform. Since then, he has broken with party leadership on several issues, including support for Israel, and has warned he would leave the party if it moved further toward anti-Israel positions. He has also criticized the rise of further-left figures within the party, such as Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed, during this year’s midterm cycle.
