Sen. John Fetterman told Fox News he refuses to call Republicans Nazis or resort to name-calling, saying Democrats have “lost the plot” as the government shutdown nears record length. Speaking Monday on Jesse Watters Primetime, the Pennsylvania Democrat criticized his own party’s tone and stressed the importance of bipartisan dialogue to reopen the government.
“And one other thing I refuse to do as a Democrat, I’m not going to call you a fascist or a Nazi,” Fetterman said. “I’m not going to compare anyone to like Hitler or anything. That’s wrong. And if you resort to that thing, you’ve lost the plot.”
Fetterman has consistently opposed government shutdowns, saying they hurt working families who rely on federal programs. He noted that in March 2025, he stood alone in urging Democrats to keep the government open. “Because it’s wrong to shut our government down,” he said.
The senator pointed to 42 million Americans who depend on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits as one reason to end the shutdown. “For me, as a Democrat, 42 million Americans, the food insecure, I mean, that’s at the very kind of core of the kinds of people that we really need to protect,” he said.
When pressed by host Jesse Watters about whether he was becoming a Republican, Fetterman replied, “No, no, I’d be a terrible Republican. But I’ll just be a very honest Democrat that’s not necessarily afraid to push back.”
Fetterman, representing what he called a “very purple” state, warned against the rise of socialism in cities like New York, saying, “Socialism might be taking over New York City, you know, tomorrow, but that’s certainly not the future of my party.”
