Senate

Fetterman tells Maher he feels ‘lonely’ as a moderate Democrat

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by Sophie Brams - 05/09/26 12:22 PM ET

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by Sophie Brams - 05/09/26 12:22 PM ET

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Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) reiterated on Friday that he has no plans to switch political affiliations, even as he says he feels increasingly “lonely” in his party.

Fetterman told comedian and “Real Time” host Bill Maher that he has seen a shift in the Democratic Party’s “values,” including on issues such as Israel, border security and government shutdowns.

“I’ve, you know, had to vote against the caucus,” the Pennsylvania senator said. “I don’t enjoy that, but we used to be a party that would always refuse to shut the government down, and now we, now have shut it down and dropped a lot of mass chaos, and I just couldn’t be a part of that.”

Fetterman, a moderate-leaning Democrat, has been critical of his party’s role in the recent 76-day Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown — the longest in U.S. history — and repeatedly broke with his colleagues on votes to reopen the agency. He also bucked the caucus by voting in favor of former Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s (R-Okla.) nomination to lead the department.

He is also an outspoken supporter of the joint U.S.-Israeli conflict in Iran, siding with Republicans to help defeat resolutions aimed at curbing Trump’s authority to wage further military action under the War Powers Act.

Those decisions have put him at odds with members of his own party, including Democrats in his home state who recently branded Fetterman a “traitor.”

CNN analyst Van Jones defended Fetterman on Monday, arguing it should not be “illegal” in the Democratic Party to hold moderate positions.

Some Senate Republicans and President Trump have reportedly been lobbying Fetterman behind the scenes to defect from the party ahead of the midterm elections, though the senator has said he is not interested.

“I’m a committed Democrat,” he told Maher on Friday. “I thought we were supposed to be a big tent party. I’m not really sure how I have become an issue for any of the Democrats just having some different views in these other issues.”

Fetterman also addressed the Democratic Party’s declining support among young men, attributing the trend to a growing “anti-men” sentiment in some wings of the party.

“Part of the Democratic Party became more and more anti-men, or describing that they were part of the problem, or they have toxic traits and for those things, and that’s why there’s been such a migration away from the Democratic Party, from young men,” he said during the appearance on “Real Time with Bill Maher.”

Young voters have been a reliable constituency for Democrats for decades, but the 2024 election showed a shift toward the Republican Party.

“It’s really why, one of the parts, why we lost in 2024,” the senator said. “If you identify anyone as the problem, or blame them for some things, then you’re going to lose.”

“We forgot that we are in the business of addition, not subtraction,” he added.

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