Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said Wednesday that there is one issue that could ultimately drive him to leave the Democratic Party: if it formally adopts what he described as an anti-Israel platform that denies Israel’s right to exist and defend itself.
Fetterman, who has been one of Israel’s strongest supporters in the Senate since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, made the remarks during an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Hannity. The Pennsylvania Democrat has consistently advocated for Israel in Congress and has frequently broken with members of his own party on the issue.
Although Fetterman has at times criticized fellow Democratic lawmakers since President Donald Trump returned to the White House and has occasionally voted differently from his colleagues, he has continued to vote with his party the majority of the time. He has also dismissed past speculation that he might switch parties despite reports that Senate Republicans hoped to persuade him to join their ranks.
During the interview, however, Fetterman identified a specific circumstance that he said would cause him to walk away from the Democratic Party.
“My real concern is the Democratic Party is going to put it into the platform, you know, as an anti-Israel party, that Israel does not have the right to defend itself and to exist,” Fetterman said. “And the second that becomes a formal part of our platform, that’s the one thing that would push me out of this party.”
The senator also expressed concern over what he sees as growing hostility toward Israel within Democratic circles, saying he is troubled by the direction the party has taken on the issue.
“I’m deeply alarmed by the way the Democratic Party is going after Israel and allowing just rank anti-semitism to just flourish, you know, on the left and on the campuses too,” he said.
Fetterman’s comments came during a discussion about the recent success of progressive and self-described democratic socialist candidates in Democratic primary elections. According to the interview, several of those candidates have defeated long-serving incumbents in races in Colorado and New York.
Their campaigns have, in part, focused on opposing continued U.S. support for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, a position that has become a growing point of debate within the Democratic Party.
Asked about the emerging political movement, Fetterman argued that many of the new candidates share a common stance toward Israel.
“The one thing” they have in common, he said, is “contempt for Israel,” which he argued is “essentially” becoming “anti-Semitism.”
Despite his disagreements with fellow Democrats over Israel and his repeated criticism of some members of his party, Fetterman reiterated through his remarks that he has not abandoned the Democratic Party. Instead, he indicated that only a formal change to the party’s platform denying Israel’s right to exist and defend itself would be enough to convince him to leave.
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