A Democrat Senator defended his recent meeting with President Trump after his recent bipartisan efforts have sparked criticism.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) said on Monday that President Trump was “kind” and “cordial” at a Mar-a-Lago meeting that sparked scrutiny
“Overall, it was a positive experience. I mean, he was kind, he was cordial. It wasn’t in any kind of theater. It wasn’t trying to get your picture taken to kind of put something out on social media. It was just, really, a conversation. We actually spoke for over an hour,” Fetterman told “The View.”
Fetterman met with Trump at his Palm Beach resort earlier this month, ahead of the inauguration, and Trump left with praise for the Pennsylvania senator.
“He’s a commonsense person. He’s not liberal or conservative. He’s just a commonsense person, which is beautiful,” Trump said in an interview with the Washington Examiner.
Fetterman’s open-minded approach to Trump and Capitol Hill Republicans has stirred speculation about the first-term senator’s motives, including questions about whether he was preparing to change parties.
During Monday’s episode of The View, Sunny Hostin ran back a clip of former police officer Michael Fanone, who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6, on MSNBC this week. Fanone name-dropped Fetterman, having publicly endorsed his run for office, as a lawmaker who “ran for the hills” and abandoned law enforcement when Trump pardoned rioters.
Hostin added that critics “on the left” have called out the senator for undergoing a “rightward shift.”
“What do you say to those who are now, in a sense, questioning your commitment to the Democratic Party?” she asked.
Fetterman began by refuting the idea he had changed and underscoring his disgust at 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. Absolute empathy, and just appalled for witnessing what happened on January 6th, and I absolutely would reject pardoning people that were involved in that.
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? 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. 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.
Oh, no. A Democrat meeting with a Republican. Say it isn’t so. God forbid they work together for the benefit of the country. That’s almost unamerican. I would impeach Fetterman. He has no business possibly siding with “the enemy”.