Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) has declared that he is “not a progressive” in an apparent effort to rebrand himself after a left-wing backlash to his stance on Israel’s war on Hamas and immigration reform.
“I’m not a progressive,” the Pennsylvania Democrat told NBC News in an interview published Friday. “I just think I’m a Democrat who’s very committed to choice and other things. But with Israel, I will be on the right side. And immigration is something near and dear to my heart, and I think we need to deal with that effectively as well.”
Fetterman emerged as one of the Jewish state’s leading supporters after the brutal Hamas attack on October 7, in which terrorists killed more than 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped hundreds, taking them to Gaza where many remain hostages.
His unabashed support for Israel’s right to “get rid of Hamas terrorists who kill innocent men, women, and children” and refusal to support a ceasefire in the conflict have galvanized the far left.
Fetterman argued that he was on the “right side” of history by supporting Israel. Getty Images
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters blocked the street outside his office in Philadelphia in October, demanding that Fetterman call for a cease-fire as they marched. a very large doll resembles a senator.
The former mayor of Braddock, Pa., has also been heckled at events and even confronted in a bar by an individual who questioned why he did not support a cease-fire.
Sixteen former Fetterman campaign staffers wrote an open letter to the senator in October calling his support for Israel a “heartbreaking betrayal.”
Fetterman also told NBC News that while he considers himself pro-immigration, policies that might stem the flow of migrants across the southern border and into the US should not be ruled out.
Fetterman has faced criticism from the left for refusing to support a ceasefire in Gaza. Reuters
“It is a reasonable conversation – until one can say there is an explanation of what we can do when 270,000 people are found at the border, excluding those, of course, that we do not know,” he said. “To put it for reference, that’s basically the size of Pittsburgh, the second largest city in Pennsylvania.”
Senate Republicans are pushing to pair aid to Israel and Ukraine with reforms to US immigration laws, a move Fetterman described as “not ideal” but a conversation that “we should be having.”
“Progressives better do that because we can’t abandon Israel — we can’t sell it out, and we can’t sell out Ukraine, and we have to implement this,” Fetterman said. “I would very much like to secure an agreement to deliver this critical assistance.”
The former mayor of Braddock, Pa., has also been heckled at events and even confronted in a bar by an individual who questioned why he did not support a cease-fire. Getty Images
Fetterman’s rejection of the progressive label contrasts with his frequent use of the term to describe himself on social media and on various campaign trails over the years.
“My friend, I am a progressive democrat,” Fetterman said in a 2020 tweet directed at former Republican Florida Governor Jeb Bush.
In 2016, she shared a silhouetted image of herself and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) with a caption that described the pair as “progressive champions.”
“If I am lucky enough to be elected, I can be a strong progressive backer for [Pennsylvania], for Governor Wolf. It provides a statewide platform to advocate for the issues I care about – living wage, legalization of marijuana, immigration, & community policing,” he tweeted in 2017, during his campaign for lieutenant governor.
Progressives fumed on social media after Fetterman’s announcement.
“He’s ‘progressive’ when he’s asking for money and votes, though,” former Ohio Democratic state Sen. Nina Turner tweeted.
Former Pennsylvania Democratic congressional candidate Alexandra Hunt called it “disgusting” that Fetterman is so vocal about immigration when his own wife is an immigrant.
“Fetterman has never been a progressive but supporting the discussion for stricter immigration laws when he is married to an extraordinary woman who was a former illegal immigrant and who kept his campaign going while he recovered from a stroke is sickening,” Hunt tweeted.
Fetterman’s office did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
