Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., drew laughter from a live audience on Saturday when he referred to himself as a “lifelong Republican” during an appearance at the Texas Tribune Festival, Fox News reports.
The moment came when an attendee asked why Fetterman does not run as an independent. “Because I’m a lifelong Republican,” he answered, before catching the slip.
He immediately acknowledged how the line would travel. “I guarantee you that will break through,” he said. “That will get clipped.”
Fetterman then turned to the substance of the question and said he has no plans to leave the Democratic Party. “I don’t have a reason to,” he said of joining Republicans.
He went on to describe his frustration with his own party’s direction on Israel. “But for a big tent situation, it’s easier to be included in that big tent to say America deserved 9/11 or America is worse than Al-Qaida than being very proud to stand on the side of Israel,” he said.
According to Fox News, Fetterman told the audience he sees “no path as a Republican,” while acknowledging that many Democrats are frustrated by his willingness to work with the opposing party. He also made clear that the decision about his place in the party is not his alone.
“If the Democratic Party votes me out or expels me, they’re always entitled to do that,” he said.
The exchange lands at a moment when Fetterman’s standing inside his own party is an open question.
The Pennsylvania senator, who rose as a progressive before moving toward the center, has repeatedly affirmed his Democratic ties even as critics have moved to cut him loose, Fox News reports.
Earlier this year, he warned that he would exit the party if Democrats became more entrenched in anti-Israel policy positions.
Republicans, for their part, have openly welcomed the idea of Fetterman joining them after he floated leaving his own caucus, according to the report.
For now, the senator’s stated position is unchanged: he is a Democrat, he says he has no reason to switch, and he has left the question of expulsion to the party itself.
Fetterman himself predicted on stage that the slip would be clipped and shared.
The fuller answer he gave afterward, on Israel and on the limits of his party’s big tent, echoed the warning he issued earlier this year, and he announced no change in his party affiliation.
