President Trump urges Fetterman to become a Republican — The Guardian

US President Donald Trump has urged Democratic Senator from Pennsylvania John Fetterman to switch to the Republican Party. On Saturday at Joint Base Andrews, Trump told reporters that he would like to see Fetterman among the Republicans.

“I would like to see him become a Republican. He performs better as a Republican than as a Democrat,” Trump said after returning to Washington from a rally in Tennessee, The Guardian reports.

Differences with Democrats

Fetterman was first elected to the US Senate in 2022. During his time in Washington, he has differed with the Democratic Party on immigration and Israel, prompting speculation about a possible change in his party affiliation.

At the same time, the senator has repeatedly rejected the possibility of switching to the Republicans. In a May column for The Washington Post, he wrote that he would be a “terrible Republican” who would still mostly vote with Democrats.

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The senator’s statements ahead of the elections

In September, Fetterman recorded a video for the Republican Party convention ahead of the midterm elections, in which he praised Pennsylvania’s other senator, Republican Dave McCormick. He also said that he would always support the United States and reject extremism, socialism, and an “anti-American way of life.”

That same month, during a conversation at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, Fetterman apparently mistakenly called himself a “lifelong Republican.” A spokesperson for the senator did not immediately comment on Trump’s remarks.

Democrats need to gain four seats to regain their Senate majority. If they win 51 seats, Fetterman could take an influential position in the chamber, which, according to the publication’s assessment, would reduce the incentives for him to switch to another party.