John Fetterman is still a Democrat. But the Pennsylvania senator has now named the issue that could make him stop being one.
Israel.
“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,” Fetterman said Wednesday at the Hill Nation Summit in Washington.
Fetterman stressed that he has “no plans” to abandon the party that sent him to the Senate. His warning was hypothetical, but it landed as another unmistakable shot at a Democratic coalition he believes is drifting away from one of America’s closest allies.
“My long-term concern has been with the Democratic Party, as I am a member of that, is that our party is going to back away and turn their back to Israel,” he said.
Fetterman said that concern has deepened as Democratic primary voters elevate candidates who are more critical of Israel and American support for its government.
“You look at the kinds of individuals that are winning our recent primaries,” Fetterman said. “It’s becoming more… anti-Israel and hostile to people.”
He did not identify a particular candidate during the quoted portion of the interview. Nor did he say the Democratic Party has already crossed his line.
But Fetterman’s warning arrives as his breaks with party orthodoxy become increasingly difficult to dismiss as isolated votes.
Since taking office in January 2023, he has repeatedly clashed with progressives over Israel, immigration, public safety and the party’s response to President Trump. He still votes overwhelmingly with Democrats, a point he has used to reject speculation that he is preparing to become a Republican.
The senator addressed the growing divide in a May Washington Post op-ed.
“Though I was elected as a Democrat, I’m proud to serve all Pennsylvanians,” he wrote. “It has become increasingly lonely to serve in that way, but I firmly believe it’s what is needed.”
Fetterman argued that Democrats have allowed opposition to Trump to become a substitute for governing.
“My party cannot simply be the opposite of whatever President Donald Trump says,” he wrote. “The president could come out for ice cream and lazy Sundays, and my party would suddenly hate them.”
“Such pointless pile-ons and attacks are unproductive. The American people want us to work together to find solutions on issues they and our country face.”
Watch the lcip above.
