Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., responded to progressive critics suggesting he wasn’t exactly who people thought he would be while he was campaigning. He added that the progressive “label&#…

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., responded to progressive critics suggesting he wasn’t exactly who people thought he would be while he was campaigning. He added that the progressive “label” left him.

“I’m not a progressive, I just identified myself as a regular Democrat,” Fetterman said, talking to 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 leaved [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.”

The Pennsylvania senator has been a staunch supporter of Israel and has expressed concern for border security, breaking with several members of his party on the issues.

Bash also asked Fetterman to respond to Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who told CNN on Tuesday that President Biden was using the “same tools as Donald Trump” to address border security.

“She’s entitled to her own opinion, but it does also seem like some of the harshest words for the president in this situation seems to be more coming from very safe, and blue, very kinds of places. Now in Pennsylvania, border security is an important issue and we do all believe that we should have a secure border, and I never thought it was unreasonable for any Democrat to want to make our border more secure,” he said.

  • @[email protected]OPMEnglish
    2•5 months ago

    I am a progressive living in PA and have followed his career since he was a progressive mayor out in what people near Philly consider the Wasteland. He’s always been a staunch and vocal supporter of Israel. I can’t say if that’s a sincerely held belief, or a political decision, but there’s no question about where he stands.

    That’s very interesting to me - I would have actually guessed he was critical of Israel before on some level or maybe silent, but never a full on supporter.

    As for border security, he came up during the tail end of the Obama administration and supported Bernie in 2016. During the Trump years, it was pretty easy for anyone left of Goebbels to oppose Trump’s crimes against humanity committed under the auspices of border control, but it still didn’t come up much in his 2018 campaign for Lt. Gov. His race against Oz for the Senate in 2022 was more about how horrible Oz would be, and marijuana.

    So I understand why modern progressives are surprised to learn that Fetterman is backing Biden’s plan. But that doesn’t mean he’s changed his stance, it just means they weren’t aware of his stance to begin with.

    Good analysis, thank you.