John Fetterman has spent months insisting he isn’t leaving the Democratic Party.
Then, while answering a question about why he doesn’t simply become an independent, Pennsylvania’s Democratic senator inadvertently called himself a “lifelong Republican.”
Oops.
The slip came Saturday at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, where Fetterman was discussing the growing speculation that he could eventually break with the Democratic Party — speculation fueled by his increasingly frequent disagreements with Democrats and his willingness to work with Republicans and President Donald Trump.
An audience member asked Fetterman why he wouldn’t become an independent.
His answer?
“Because I’m a lifelong Republican.”
As the audience reacted, the host immediately corrected him: “You meant Democrat.”
Fetterman then put his hand to his head, acknowledging the slip.
“I guarantee you that will break through,” Fetterman said. “That will get clipped.”
He was right.
The Pennsylvania senator quickly corrected himself and made clear he meant Democrat, not Republican.
But the timing couldn’t be more interesting.
Fetterman has been facing persistent questions about his political future after repeatedly breaking with his own party on some of its biggest issues.
Earlier in the evening, he rejected the idea that he had any reason to join the Republican Party.
“I don’t have a reason to,” Fetterman said.
He argued that Democrats should be more of a “big-tent” party capable of accommodating members with different views.
And Fetterman has certainly tested the limits of that tent.
He has strongly supported Israel, criticized progressive Democrats and rejected what he described as “the extremes of socialism.” He has also worked with Trump on some issues and recently appeared in a video introducing Republican Sen. Dave McCormick at the GOP’s midterm convention in Dallas.
That appearance only added fuel to the speculation about where Fetterman is headed.
But Fetterman says there is no Republican future waiting for him.
“I have no path as a Republican,” he said.
He also suggested that if Democrats ultimately decide they don’t want him in the party, that’s their choice.
“If the Democratic Party votes me out or expels me, they’re always entitled to do that,” Fetterman said.
For now, however, he’s staying put.
Fetterman also said he isn’t interested in spending much time speculating about the next Congress until voters actually cast their ballots.
“Wait till the midterms. See what I do,” he said. “Let’s revisit after the midterm and see what happens if I happen to be 51.”
That “51” is significant. Fetterman has previously said that if Democrats regain control of the Senate, he would still be the 51st vote he campaigned as — potentially giving Democrats a decisive vote in a narrowly divided chamber.
He also hasn’t decided whether he’ll seek reelection in 2028.
“I am fundraising with that as the possibility,” Fetterman said.
The uncertainty comes as Fetterman’s relationship with the Democratic base has become increasingly complicated.
A recent poll by The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer and Siena University found that nearly two-thirds of Pennsylvania Democrats viewed him unfavorably, according to the Texas Tribune. Republicans in Pennsylvania, meanwhile, viewed Fetterman more favorably than their own senator, Dave McCormick.
That doesn’t mean Fetterman is becoming a Republican.
In fact, he says the opposite.
But his political evolution has been impossible to miss.
The senator who entered Washington with strong support from progressives now regularly clashes with the left wing of his own party. He’s criticized Democratic “purity tests,” defended his positions on Israel and Iran, and argued that Democrats need to make room for politicians who don’t agree with the party on every issue.
And now he has handed everyone speculating about his future a line they can replay over and over: “I’m a lifelong Republican.”
Fetterman immediately corrected himself. He says he’s a lifelong Democrat.
But as Fetterman himself predicted, that first version is almost certainly the one everyone will remember.
Watch the clip below:
