Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) defended his commitment to the Democrat Party during an appearance on “The View” Monday morning.
Co-host Sunny Hostin grilled Fetterman regarding his “rightward shift” and his “commitment to the Democratic Party,” per Mediaite.
Fetterman was elected in 2022 as a progressive has been criticized from differing from Democrats regarding immigration, fracking and Israel.
He also met with President Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago.
Hostin ran a clip of former former police officer Michael Fanone, who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6. Fanone called out Fetterman as a lawmaker who “ran for the hills,” abandoning law enforcement when Trump pardoned rioters.
“What do you say to those who are now, in a sense, questioning your commitment to the Democratic Party?” Hostin asked.
Fetterman said he has not changed and reiterated his disgust for the Jan. 6 pardons.
“First, I just want to say I am so sorry for what happened to that officer. I mean, he’s had a heart attack. His life – he almost died. I mean, I have had a stroke, same thing,” Fetterman said. “Absolute empathy, and just appalled for witnessing what happened on January 6th, and I absolutely would reject pardoning people that were involved in that.”
Fetterman continued, stating he is not leaning to the right.
“As for rightward? That’s just… that just happens not to be true. I have been on record too saying I am not going to become a Republican, you know?” he said. “Although maybe some people might be happy on one side, but I would make a pretty terrible Republican because, you know, pro-choice, pro-really strong immigration, pro-LGBTQ, you know, just pretty, like… I don’t think I would be a good fit.”
“So I’m not going to change my party, and if I am going to do, I’m going to show up. I’ll give you the exclusive. I can announce,” Fetterman said. “So I can’t keep chasing down every last thing that’s online because they just happen not to be true. Just look at my votes. Look at the things… I haven’t changed in a way.”
Co-host Ana Navarro noted Fetterman voted the party line and against Pete Hegseth for defense secretary, but was “a yes on Kristi Noem [and] on Marco Rubio.”
“You’ve also taken meetings with some of the most controversial appointees,” Navarro said. “So the controversial ones are Tulsi Gabbard and RFK Jr. Their hearings are set for later this week. Do you know how you’re going to vote yet?”
Fetterman said he was going to watch the hearings and go from there.
“We, just like all of you, are going to watch the hearings and see how things go. And I was committed to having an open dialogue with anyone, and I’ve played it straight and that’s the same kind of rules that I play, and that’s what I extend to them, and I found that to be illuminating, and I was able to develop a more full and formed choice, and that’s what I have been doing there,” Fetterman said.
“Some were real easy like Rubio. I mean, he’s incredibly qualified, and there’s other things that are going to be controversial, and you’re going to see some really controversial ones coming up this week, but now I can’t say I refuse to even spend some time just hearing them, directly from them, just having a conversation. And that’s what I’ve decided and I haven’t regretted it,” he added.
