John Fetterman: I haven't changed. Here's what has.

[In It to Win It]

Gift Link
WaPo

Many might not know, but I won my first race by a single vote to be mayor of Braddock, a small steel town — one of the poorest in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania — where 90 percent of the population has left. It was a forgotten community.

I wasn’t interested in playing political games. I wanted to help deliver change. It wasn’t about being a Democrat or Republican, but about making sure places such as Braddock received the benefits, focus and investments they deserved for their contributions to this great country.

As a U.S. senator, I still believe in that principle. It doesn’t matter if my colleague is in my party or across the aisle. My focus remains on working together to find wins and deliver for my constituents. And though I was elected as a Democrat, I’m proud to serve all Pennsylvanians.

It has become increasingly lonely to serve in that way, but I firmly believe it’s what is needed.

My party cannot simply be the opposite of whatever President Donald Trump says. The president could come out for ice cream and lazy Sundays, and my party would suddenly hate them. Such pointless pile-ons and attacks are unproductive. The American people want us to work together to find solutions on issues they and our country face.

Fetterman Shuts Down Talk of Switching Parties
https://politicalwire.com/2026/05/07/fetterman-shuts-down-talk-of-switching-parties/

— Taegan Goddard (@politicalwire.com) 2026-05-07T23:45:07+00:00

[Happy Hoosier]

1. Get ready for forced retirement, John. NT

[FalloutShelter]

5. Bye Bye John.

Done with you in PA.

[debm55]

12. same here in Pittsburgh,

[displacedvermoter]

2. What fucking change -- for the good -- have his antics brought about?

[no_hypocrisy]

3. To quote Jeff Spicoli:

https://m.

&pp=ygUVWW91IGRpY2sgKyBmYXN0IHRpbWVz

[hatrack]

4. Nice strawman, straw-in-the-wind man!

[Kid Berwyn]

6. I prefer politicians who oppose fascism...

…stand up to oligarchs who undermine the economy, and investigate traitors who talk to adversaries in secret and then implement policies that aid our enemies, and prosecute those who start illegal, immoral, unnecessary and disastrous wars for profit; so, that’s not Fetterman and his object of worship, Drumpf.

[LeftInTX]

7. Well, that's all nice until it isn't.

I tend to agree that we shouldn't oppose Trump just because he's Trump and Trump is a (fill in the blank) , we should oppose bad policies. So far, haven't seen much in the way of good policies coming from the GOP and Trump.

There are few things that Trump has done and I've said, "OK, I give him a pass. It's not bad", (Like the MJ stuff) But those are few and far between.

I don't see you opposing the bad stuff, John. You supported his stupid ballroom...ballroom....

[Initech]

8. No dude, you've changed.

Fetterman goes on Fox News so much that I'm starting to think he works for them. He stabbed us in the back twice. He can go fuck all of the way off.

[SalamanderSleeps]

9. Trump is evil and batshit crazy.

Doing the exact opposite of the Orange Menace does is probably always going to be the right thing to do.

Trump can only be trusted to take your "ice cream and lazy Sundays" and shove them straight up your ass, and then charge you for the privilege.

[GiqueCee]

10. "My party cannot simply be the opposite of whatever President Donald Trump says."

Senator, everything that followed that sentence very succinctly described the REPUBLICAN party. Actions speak louder than words, as they say, and your actions and words in support of Trump speak very loudly indeed. Your constituents – ALL of them – deserve representation that reflects their own beliefs and values. Trump has no redeeming values whatsoever. He is a psychotic monster.
Come back to the fold, John, and do what really needs to be done to best represent all Pennsylvanians and all Americans. If Trump and his supporters were reasonable and rational people, reaching across the aisle would be admirable, but they are not even in the same galaxy as reasonable and rational, so that cannot include supporting Trump in any way, shape, or form.

[LiberalLovinLug]

31. Such a simplistic and ignorant statement by Fetterman

He is proposing that his fellow Democrats are so shallow that they simply oppose for opposing sake. Why not name an example then.....of a good and practical legislation that Trump has come up with but opposed by his D peers?
Does he think we are so daft that he thinks we will swallow that argument?

[doc03]

11. He can have more power if he stays a Democrat like Manchin and Sinama did. nt

[LeftInTX]

14. Sinema only lasted one term. Not much power for her.

[The Wizard]

26. Did Sinema take bribes to

oppose Biden's agenda? Who benefited from her votes?

[Johonny]

13. Building a ballroom helps poor people how?

Driving up gas prices to prove Trump has a bigger dick than Obama helps those people how?

What fucking change did he want?

This reads as grade A bullshit.

[LeftInTX]

15. Exactly!!! Supporting a ballroom???

[republianmushroom]

16. A DINO speaks,

trying to justify his being a DINO.

[bucolic_frolic]

17. He has no sense of what's right or wrong, he just both-sides everything.

Democrats have values and stand for something.

[WarGamer]

18. bet he has a (R) next to his name next election

[leftstreet]

19. Google, what is poverty rate Braddock PA?

27.5% average

Way to go Fetterman

[gulliver]

20. He's right.

And this would be how our party could win 60% majority elections. Cool tempered, prioritized. He's pointing out a political "steak" sitting on a plate right in front of us with a knife, fork, and a bottle of A-1.

[Klarkashton]

21. Genocide John

[kacekwl]

22. Boy does he have it backwards

The party who will condemn ice cream and lazy Sundays is the Republican party if the Supreme Leader says so. It's as clear as the frumpy sweatshirt on your back. Wake up dummy.

[Bluestocking]

23. He even lies like a Republican

[Rob H.]

24. Reminds me of the old, "I didn't leave the party, the party left me"

Last edited Fri May 8, 2026, 02:47 PM - Edit history (1)

I heard it from someone who switched parties from Democratic to Republican when Obama got elected. She was always a selfish, terrible person but her then-new embrace of racism and birtherism cemented my view of her then and there. She's since gone off the MAGA deep end, despite the fact she's a lesbian and the GOP likely hates her just for that. She's a loudmouthed Second Amendment fetishist now, too, and an anti-vaxxer who believes that vaccines cause autism and the COVID jab was (and still is) killing or crippling more people than it helped.



Edit: now that I think about it, she was actually a Randrrhoid registered as a Democrat because some of her views did align with the Democrats at the time. She's a right-wing wackaloon now, though.

[Raven123]

27. So what has Fetterman done to address what he sees as the problem?

Bashing members of the party that helped you get elected seems counterproductive.

[MyOwnPeace]

28. I wonder how many people in Braddock......

will get to dance in the new "Ballroom?"

[themaguffin]

29. His value to Rs is being a "Democrat" If he ran as a R, he would lose to an "actual" R. Either way, his career is going

to end with his current term. He will lose in either party's primaries.

[LudwigPastorius]

30. Oh, bite me, Senator Lurch.

[Vinca]

32. So please. Tell us what your newfound BFF Donald has done for the American people so far!

Billionaires don't count. That's why we have Trump TACO days. Maybe "Pump & Dump" could be turned into a Trump board game!