Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) is calling himself the conscience of the Democratic Party for his willingness to support Israel.
Fetterman met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week at Blair House in Washington, where the pair emphasized the close partnership between the United States and Israel.
“I’m proud to remain the conscience of the Democratic Party in Congress, not just the Senate, but over in Congress, overall,” Fetterman said in a video released of the meeting on Wednesday. “I’ve always supported things like last year, Midnight Hammer, or what you were confronting in Gaza, and how necessary it was to destroy Hamas and Hezbollah, and also go after the Iranians with their capabilities. It’s always been a just war for me.”
During the meeting, Fetterman referred to Israel as a “miracle” and lambasted New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani for his threats to arrest Netanyahu at the United Nations General Assembly in September. The senator also expressed concern with his own party for becoming increasingly critical of Israel.
“And it’s been disappointing, as a Democratic politician, how our party continues to behave,” Fetterman said. “As far as I know, I was the only Democrat that was proud to push that trash back, and now here we are. I’m proud to stand with Israel through everything.”
Netanyahu praised Fetterman and said history would remember the senator’s willingness to stand up for Israel.
“You’ve been a stellar patriot, talking about what is good for America, what is good for our alliance, of which you’ve been a champion, and you’ve been telling it like it is, with no fear,” Netanyahu said.
The meeting comes as Fetterman becomes increasingly controversial among fellow Democrats over not just his support for Israel, but also his criticism of the rising Democratic Socialists of America. However, the senator’s voting record remains predominantly liberal.
“He seems to want to fight back against the DSA encroachment of his party,” veteran Pennsylvania Republican political consultant Christopher Nicholas told the Washington Examiner.
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Nicholas mentioned Fetterman’s “broadsides” against former Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner; his replacement, Troy Jackson; and Abdul el Sayed, a Michigan Democratic Senate candidate whom Fetterman has dubbed “Pontiac Platner.”
“My Dem friends here loved when he was a social media s***poster focused on the GOP,” Nicholas said. “Now that he’s switched his aim, they aren’t so happy, are they?”