As speculation swirled around him about leaving the Democratic Party, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman described himself, apparently unintentionally, as a “lifelong Republican” during a fireside chat in Texas over the weekend.
Fetterman made the comment when someone listening to him speak with CBS News political correspondent Major Garrett at the Texas Tribune Festival on Saturday asked the Pennsylvania senator why he had not become an independent.
“Because I’m a lifelong Republican,” Fetterman responded. Garrett immediately corrected him, saying “Democrat,” while Fetterman raised his hand and shook his head in disbelief.
“This is a moment that can be cut, ladies and gentlemen,” Garrett said amid laughter from the audience. “Go, go, go – Internet, spin wild! Spin wild, Internet!”
Fetterman then remarked, “Yeah, I guarantee you it’s going to break through. It’ll be…cut–yeah. I’m a lifelong Democrat, and that’s…the point.”
Commenters on social media and news media quickly seized on the video of Fetterman’s gaffe, with more than a few calling it a Freudian slip.
Fetterman raised questions about his loyalty to the Democratic Party after joining Republicans in opposing his party’s efforts to end the U.S. war on Iran and withhold military aid to Israel, accused of committing genocide in Gaza.
He also appeared in a video praising Pennsylvania Republican Senator Dave McCormick at his party’s convention in Dallas on September 9.
Fetterman – who was elected to the US Senate in 2022 – has denied that he intends to defect to the Republican Party. He said he would only abandon the Democratic Party if it became “the anti-Israel party.”
“I’m not going to be a Republican,” Fetterman told a reporter at the U.S. Capitol in a video posted online by CSPAN on September 15. “Why can’t you wait until the midterms? And if I become a Republican, then I’ll be a liar.”
On Saturday at the Texas Tribune Festival, Fetterman expressed his belief that it was “entirely possible” for the Democratic Party to capture a majority in the Senate in the federal midterm elections in November, with Republicans expected to lose congressional seats. But he declined to indicate who he might side with if he ends up holding a tie-breaking vote on any issue in the 100-seat Senate after the midterms.
“Let’s come back after the midterm elections and see what happens — you know — if I’m 51,” said Fetterman, who was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2022. “I don’t know.
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