Trump Publicly Courts Fetterman to Join GOP as Midterms Near
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President Donald Trump said Saturday that he would welcome Sen. John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, into the Republican Party, just weeks before midterm elections that could decide control of Congress. Trump spoke to reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland after returning from a rally in Tennessee, according to ABC News.
Fetterman has said repeatedly that he will not become a Republican. His recent actions, however, have kept speculation alive, and his office had not responded to requests for comment from ABC News or Fox News at the time of publication.
What Trump said about Fetterman
Asked whether he had talked to Fetterman about switching, Trump told reporters, “I’d love to see him as a Republican.” Fox News reported that Trump called Fetterman a “great guy,” said he had spoken with Fetterman’s parents previously, and described the senator as smart and possessed of common sense.
Trump also argued that a switch would help Fetterman politically. He said Fetterman performs better in polls as a Republican than as a Democrat, and that it would be hard for him to win the Democratic nomination. ABC News called the remarks among the most direct overtures Trump has made to Fetterman.
What Fetterman has said and done
Fetterman wrote in The Washington Post in May that he would be a “terrible Republican who still votes overwhelmingly with Democrats,” according to ABC News. He has not publicly shifted from that position, according to the sources.
Several recent moves have complicated that message. Last month he recorded a video for the Republican midterm convention praising fellow Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick, a Republican. In it, he said he would reject extremes, socialism and an anti-American way of life, and ABC News reported that he suggested his own party had extremists.
Fox News reported that Fetterman has split with Democrats on the Iran war and immigration, has reportedly used Republican fundraising platforms to solicit donations, and is close friends with Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala. At a Texas Tribune event last month, he called himself a “lifelong Republican” when asked why he did not run as an independent, then appeared to realize the slip. ABC News said he has also split with Democrats on Israel.
Why it matters: the fight for Senate control
The Senate is the central issue. ABC News reported that Republicans could lose their majority next month. Democrats need to gain four seats to retake it, which the outlet described as a once remote prospect that remains challenging. It said Trump’s unpopularity and the economic fallout from the Iran war have made Democrats more optimistic about their chances.
A party switch by a sitting senator can matter when the chamber is closely divided. ABC News noted that Jim Jeffords of Vermont left the GOP in 2001 and gave Democrats a narrow majority. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter left Republicans in 2009, which helped Democrats reach a supermajority.
ABC News also said that if Democrats gained the four seats for a 51-seat majority, Fetterman could hold an influential position in the chamber, which would reduce his incentive to switch.
How often he votes with his party
Fox News Digital reported that since joining the Senate in 2023, Fetterman has voted with Senate Democrats nearly 90% of the time. In the current session of Congress, that figure has fallen to just under 81%. Fox News noted that he still votes with his party the vast majority of the time.
ABC News said that flirting with the GOP could make it extremely difficult for Fetterman to win the Democratic nomination for another Senate term, a point Trump himself raised on Saturday. Fetterman was first elected in 2022.
