Trump heaps fresh praise on John Fetterman amid calls to join the GOP

DAILYMAIL.COM • 2h ago

By VICTORIA CHURCHILL, US POLITICAL REPORTER 16:51 12 Oct 2026, updated 17:02 12 Oct 2026

President Donald Trump would love to see Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman join the Republican Party.

Speaking with reporters on Saturday evening at Joint Base Andrews, Trump stated that it would be ‘hard’ for Fetterman to be nominated to the US Senate ‘as a Democrat,’ adding that he’d ‘love to have him as a Republican.’

The president’s nudge comes as his party’s grip on the US Senate looks weaker by the day.

While Fetterman has maintained strong relationships with Republicans, he’s rejected speculation about switching parties.

But the pressure to flip will only grow if Democrats narrowly take back the Senate next month.

Trump heralded Fetterman as having ‘great common sense,’ before adding that ‘he does better as a Republican than he does as a Democrat.’

Polling conducted by Quinnipiac University and released last Wednesday revealed that Fetterman held a 72 percent favorability rating with Republicans, while only 13 percent of Democrats viewed him favorably.

Fetterman was also viewed negatively by 69 percent of Democrats and just 19 percent of Republicans.

Among independents, Fetterman was viewed negatively by 49 percent and positively by 27 percent of poll respondents.

Trump also praised Fetterman’s parents when speaking with reporters on Saturday, heralding them as ‘magnificent.’

An investigation by the Philadelphia Inquirer revealed that Fetterman frequently left Washington, DC, to travel 100 miles to have dinner with his parents in York, Pennsylvania, before returning to the Capitol the following day.

The investigation also uncovered that the Pennsylvania senator’s campaign spent $8,900 on hotel stays in York alone, while its total lodging bill ballooned to $168,700.

The Daily Mail reached out to Fetterman’s office for a response to Trump’s comment.

During the Texas Tribune festival last month, Fetterman, who suffered from a stroke in 2022, erroneously stated that he has always been a Republican.

‘Why not become an independent?’ Fetterman was asked as the host fielded a question from an audience member.

He replied that he was a ‘lifelong Republican’ before the host corrected him, saying he was a ‘Democrat.’

Earlier in September, Fetterman appeared at the Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas via a video address, heaping praise on his fellow Pennsylvania Senator, Dave McCormick, and even boasted about his record working with President Donald Trump.

Among Democrats, the reaction to Fetterman’s flirtation with mutiny was fierce.

Congressman Chris Deluzio, a Democrat representing one of the country’s top GOP-targeted congressional seats in Pennsylvania’s 17th district, called out Fetterman for being ‘too lazy to do it in person.’

In a statement after the speech, Fetterman said he wouldn’t leave the Democratic Party.

‘I’m a lifelong Democrat who votes overwhelmingly with my party – and should the Senate flip in November, I will still be the 51st vote that I ran on,’ he said in a statement released to The Washington Sun shortly after the video played.

Earlier in the summer, Fetterman, however, did reveal the ultimate red line that would make him abandon the Democrats.

‘If our party ever becomes — and just makes it official — the anti-Israel party, that’s when I would leave because that’s been a moral clarity for me,’ he shared at the event.

Fetterman also noted that his ‘long-term concern has been with the Democratic Party, as I am a member of that, is that our party is going to back away and turn their back to Israel.’

That same month, 103 of 211 Democrats in the US House of Representatives voted against providing aid to Israel, while 10 more of their colleagues voted ‘present’ on the measure.

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