Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) stunned supporters on the left with a pronouncement made in an interview with NBC News published Friday that “I’m not a progressive.”
Since being treated (apparently successfully) for clinical depression earlier this year following last year’s debilitating stroke, Fetterman has emerged as an articulate, moderate Democrat on issues like securing the border, supporting Israel in its war with Hamas and calling on corrupt Democrat Sen. Bob Menendez (NJ) to resign.
“I’m not a progressive,” Fetterman told NBC News. “I just think I’m a Democrat that is very committed to choice and other things. But with Israel, I’m going to be on the right side of that. And immigration is something near and dear to me, and I think we do have to effectively address it as well.”
Fetterman insisted he can be pro-immigration while also favoring policies to restrict the flow of migration to manageable levels, disagreeing with progressives who oppose new limits on asylum and bash some of the ideas in the negotiations as cruel.
“It’s a reasonable conversation — until somebody can say there’s an explanation on what we can do when 270,000 people are being encountered on the border, not including the ones, of course, that we don’t know about,” he said. “To put that in reference, that is essentially the size of Pittsburgh, the second-largest city in Pennsylvania.”
The senator added that while it’s “not ideal to have this conversation” about asylum and parole policy in connection with an aid package for Israel and Ukraine, “it’s still one that we should have,” given that Republicans have made it an essential condition to advance the supplemental bill.
“Progressives better do that because we can’t leave Israel — we can’t sell them out, and we can’t sell Ukraine out, and we have to deliver on this,” Fetterman said. “I just would very much like to get a deal to deliver this critical aid.”
Reaction was not kind on the left:
Funny, he was a progressive when he was asking me for my fucking money https://t.co/wyNY6xmWH8 pic.twitter.com/3i6ASqOplO
— isi baehr-breen (isibb.bsky.social) (@isaiah_bb) December 15, 2023
Senator Fetterman throws his wife under the bus (2023) https://t.co/8lLBOGOWuA pic.twitter.com/UNAHN1Dbgx
— crazy ass moments in american politics (@ampol_moment) December 15, 2023
tale as old as time. This actually is how Fetterman’s story ends https://t.co/rPfC4Jost8 pic.twitter.com/Q4pI7zeQA4
— Erik Strobl 🦝 (@erikstrobl) December 15, 2023
With Senator Manchin gone, Senator Fetterman is vying for the rotating villain spot.
— Nina Turner (@ninaturner) December 15, 2023
Fetterman losing all his supporters bc he can’t keep his mouth shut pic.twitter.com/ZrOyFzISAt
— Professional Zoomer 🌹 (@Zoomer_Doomer_) December 15, 2023
Reaction by some on the right has been one of pleasant surprise.
In the last month or so John Fetterman has been:
Right on Israel.
Right on not selling farmland to CCP.
Right on expelling Menendez.
Right on the border.And I’m just amazed. pic.twitter.com/gQOdiafsxv
— GAgirl1967❤️🖤 is ready for Christmas 🎄! (@Tamzilla_52) December 9, 2023
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