When Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) showed up via video at the first-ever Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas this week, the left-wing media went into panic mode, with reporters and pundits openly wondering if he was on his way out the door.
“Yes, I’m a Democrat,” Fetterman says in the video. “Why am I here talking to you today? Because, well, I’m a common-sense Democrat. I’m always going to stand with America. I’m always going to reject the extremes in socialism and that anti-American way of life.” He also heaped praise on Sen. David McCormick (R-Pa.), calling him “the kind of senator that gets the job done” and saying he’s “proud to count him as my friend,” despite the two belonging to opposite parties. Standing in front of a U.S. Steel mill, Fetterman said he wants to “work with President Trump to fight and defend the steel way of life right here in the Steel Valley.”
Between this video appearance and his skipping the 2024 Democratic National Convention, it’s clear that some people on the left are getting uneasy about Fetterman.
NBC Congressional Correspondent Ryan Nobles didn’t sound too confident in Fetterman’s future as a Democrat, for one. “I think what it tells us more than anything is that John Fetterman will probably never run as a Democrat again,” Nobles said. “He’s got no shot at winning reelection as a Democrat. So the bigger question is, as we head into 2028, is he running as a Republican or as an independent, or is he not running at all?”
More Fetterman projection at NBC News Now: with “YMCA” blaring in the background, Garrett Haake and Ryan Nobles suggest Fetterman will be irrelevant to the midterms, regardless of party affiliation. Downplaying the (prospective) switch!
GARRETT HAAKE: And in a scripted event… pic.twitter.com/gDoNbrs2wl
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) September 10, 2026
Over at ABC News Live, Senior Political Correspondent Rachel Scott called Fetterman’s speech “a profound moment,” noting that “it is a profound moment seeing a Democrat in this room, in this stadium full of Republicans for a first-ever Republican Midterm Convention.”
WATCH: ABC News frets over the idea that John Fetterman might switch parties pic.twitter.com/uKJfSNdu6v
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) September 10, 2026
“I don’t understand why he’s doing that,” MSNOW’s Jen Psaki said. “But to me, it feels like Democrats need to be clear-eyed that he might flip parties.”
Her guest, former New Orleans Mayor and Biden advisor Mitch Landrieu, was a bit more outraged and concerned.
“I’m flabbergasted by it in this sense — that I’m a common-sense Democrat that doesn’t like the extremes, either,” Landrieu claimed. “But I would never do something as stupid as that.”
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He continued, “A second grader in politics would understand why it would not be wise for a sitting Democratic senator to address a Republican convention unless he was open to the possibility of changing.” He added that Democrats need to accept that Fetterman “may decide to switch parties” before it’s all over. “Now, he swears he won’t. I hope he honors his word,” Landrieu said. “I think what he did was a bad mistake and bad judgment.”
WATCH: Jen Psaki and Mitch Landrieu FREAK OUT over the idea that John Fetterman might pull an Arlen Specter and switch parties pic.twitter.com/wLYPdPbMv0
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) September 10, 2026
I still don’t think Fetterman will ever switch parties. He’s not a moderate, and he votes with his party 95% of the time. But watching the left-wing media spiral over the idea is entertaining enough on its own. That said, if Democrats are genuinely worried about losing him, maybe they should stop trying to purge anyone who doesn’t vote with the party 100% of the time.
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