Senator John Fetterman (R-PA) has threatened to leave the Democratic Party if it turns its back on Israel. While he said he has “no plans” to leave the party, he acknowledged that the Israel issue would force him to shift.
“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 said during an interview at the Hill Nation Summit. Fetterman noted that he “can’t understand why the Democratic Party” would turn against its ally.
“My 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,” he said, going on to state, “You look at the kinds of individuals that are winning our recent primaries. It’s becoming more anti-, anti-Israel and hostile” to those who are pro-Israel.
Fetterman went on to criticize progressive candidates who advocated for defunding police. “Now here’s more Democrats to ‘defund the police.’ Here we are back to part of the worst impulses that we just can’t resist,” he explained during the summit. “We forgot the crazy things that we said, and that cost us the election in 2024. Now we want to revisit that — if anything they’re coming back in the strongest kind of terms. Look at the people who are winning.”
Fetterman previously condemned the sweeping anti-Israel views taking over the Democratic Party to Fox News, telling Martha MacCallum, “The new candidates now make it front and center in their campaign to be anti-Israel.”
“That’s a signal to just lean in harder and be very proud to stand with Israel, because that’s our key ally,” Fetterman declared. “I refuse to ever turn our back, regardless if there’s part of my party that’s been willing to do these things.”
