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Fetterman Addresses Leftist Critics Upset He's Not Who He Suggested He'd Be During Campaign

Leah Barkoukis
Leah Barkoukis  |  June 06, 2024 11:30 AM

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) responded to critics on the left who have been disappointed the senator hasn’t proven to be as progressive as they thought he would be.  

"I'm not a progressive, I just identified myself as a regular Democrat," Fetterman told CNN's Dana Bash. "Now, eight years ago, I was a progressive, but the situation's changed and I‘ve been very clear that I didn‘t leave that label. That label [left] me, and I think it’s much more important to be focusing on Donald Trump instead of those kinds of purity tests and those kinds of issues." 

Fetterman’s stance on the Israel-Hamas war, as well as his concern about the southern border, has put him at odds with a number of colleagues on his side of the political aisle. 

"I don't know why it was controversial that we have to have a secure border, and then when you start to examine the numbers that are showing up at the border -- 270-300,000 people," Fetterman told Fox News's Bret Baier earlier this month. "For perspective, for Pennsylvania, that's the size of Pittsburgh a month. And it's like how can you take care of them?"

The topic of progressivism also came up during that interview, with Baier asking him what changed given he did previously identify as such.

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Fetterman again said it wasn't him that changed, but the label. 

"I'm not a [Sen. Joe] Manchin kind of figure, I'm just a regular Democrat that - I want to be honest and I don't understand- I haven't really thought anything that I've said is really controversial," he said. "Standing and leaning in with our critical ally in Israel and being very pro-immigration but also realizing that we have to have a secured border, and protesting and free speech is a very valid American right but not the way it's manifested itself on the campus."