Despite U.S. Sen. John Fetterman's repeated denial that he will leave the Democratic Party, President Donald Trump is encouraging him to become a Republican.
Over the weekend, Trump told reporters that Fetterman "does better as a Republican" and that he would "love to see (Fetterman) as a Republican."
Fetterman, elected as a Democrat in Pennsylvania in 2022, doesn't always agree with Trump. But he's sided with him more often than other members of the party on key issues, showing staunch support for Israel and the war against Iran, confirming multiple top-level cabinet positions nominated by Trump and even vowing to work with him last month during the Republican midterm convention.
Trump encourages Fetterman to switch to Republican Party
Trump said Fetterman should swap parties while speaking to reporters
at Joint Base Andrews on Oct. 10 as he traveled back to Washington, D.C. from a rally in Tennessee, The Guardian. If Fetterman remains with the Democratic Party and runs for reelection, voters likely won't choose him, Trump said.
"It's gonna be hard for him to get the nomination as a Democrat, but I’d love to have him as a Republican," Trump said. "If you look at the polls, he does better as a Republican than he does as a Democrat."
The comment came just a month after Fetterman appeared at the Republican midterm convention via a recorded video, where he vowed to work alongside Trump to defend the "steel way of life."
"We'll work with President Trump to fight and defend the steel way of life right here in the Steel Valley," Fetterman said.During the video, which was played ahead of an appearance by U.S. Sen. David McCormick, Fetterman's Pennsylvania colleague, Fetterman described himself as a "common-sense Democrat."
"I'm always gonna reject the extremes in socialism and that anti-American way of life," he said.
Is John Fetterman switching parties? 'I'll be a liar, then'
Fetterman has repeatedly denied that he will become a Republican or an independent.
He shouted at a reporter over this issue in a Sept. 15 video published by CSPAN on X, saying, "I'm not going to be a Republican. You know, why can't you guys just wait 'til the midterm? And if I turn a Republican, then I'll be a liar, then."
For Fetterman, the dealbreaker that will determine his allegiance to Democrats is whether or not the party continues providing aid to Israel.
"If they put that in our platform — no aid for Israel — and officially become the anti-Israel party, then yeah, that’s a red line for me," Fetterman told NBC News. "Democrats, we always should support Israel. That’s our special ally, you know? In the only democracy in the entire region, that’s Israel. So I’m always proud to stand with Israel."
And while Fetterman has faced declining support from Democrats, he responded positively when asked if he believed he would win a primary bid for reelection during a conversation in CNN's The Situation Room.
"Yeah," he said, then added, "I mean, I mean, that's — we don't know exactly, but overall, it's 2026, so it's, it's really kind of a theoretic."
Republicans, Democrats speculate on Fetterman switching parties
While Fetterman has said he won't switch parties, that hasn't stopped both Republicans and Democrats from speculating about what it might look like if he were to become an independent or a Republican.
Pennsylvania Democrats wouldn't offer support for Fetterman when asked about the possibility of him running for reelection earlier this year. And the Commonwealth's GOP Chair, state Sen. Greg Rothman, has been watching to see if Fetterman will jump ship since at least April, he told PennLive.
"We’re still trying to wrestle with what happens if John Fetterman switched party and becomes a Republican," Rothman said.
What is Fetterman's approval rating?
Democrats' support for Fetterman has dwindled since he was elected in 2022. An Oct. 7 poll from Quinnipiac University showed only 13% of Democrats had a favorable view of him, while 69% had an unfavorable opinion of him. Independents were split more evenly, with 49% viewing him unfavorably. Across the board, 37% of likely votes viewed him favorably compared to 46% who viewed him unfavorably, and 15% hadn't heard enough about him.
While Fetterman's support is down with Democrats, it's skyrocketed with Republicans. The same Quinnipiac poll showed that 72% of Republicans had a favorable view of him, while only 19% had an unfavorable view of him. An August poll, conducted by The New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer and Siena University, showed that Fetterman had a higher approval rating than his Pennsylvania colleague U.S. Sen. David McCormick. While 79% of self-identified Republicans had a positive view of Fetterman, 62% viewed McCormick favorably.
When is John Fetterman up for reelection?
Fetterman can't run for office again until 2028. As of Oct. 12, he had yet to announce official plans to run for reelection.
Finch Walker is the Pittsburgh Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Contact Walker at FWalker@usatodayco.com. Instagram: @finchwalker_. X: @_finchwalker.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump says Sen. John Fetterman should change parties, become a Republican
