John Fetterman (D-PA) is arguably one of American politics' most controversial and interesting politicians. In recent months, the lawmaker has gone from being the "darling" of radical Democrats, who justified his casual dress and communication gaffes, to the party's "black sheep" for his strong stance in support of Israel and border security.
For a long time, Fetterman himself was one of the most respected politicians among progressives for his position as a supposed defender of the disadvantaged and his closeness to Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont democratic socialist who is now an "independent."
Nevertheless, Fetterman, for months now, has been under severe attacks from radical progressivism, which now accuses him of supporting "genocide" against Palestine, a reference to Israel's retaliation against Hamas following the October 7 terrorist attacks.
Fetterman, however, is not succumbing to the blows. The Pennsylvania senator, in interviews with NBC News and The New York Times this week, declared that the "progressive" label no longer fits him and that he feels his stance on Israel and the border is to the right of the left in his party.
"I'm not a progressive," Fetterman told NBC News. "I just think I'm a Democrat that is very committed to choice and other things. But with Israel, I'm going to be on the right side of that. And immigration is something near and dear to me, and I think we do have to effectively address it as well."
The senator told the news network that he can be pro-immigration while supporting policies that seek to control the immigration flow to manageable or tolerable levels. This stance puts him at odds with many progressives who oppose limits on asylum claims or call some border policies "cruel."
"It's a reasonable conversation — until somebody can say there's an explanation on what we can do when 270,000 people are being encountered on the border, not including the ones, of course, that we don't know about," Fetterman said. "To put that in reference, that is essentially the size of Pittsburgh, the second-largest city in Pennsylvania."
With the NYT, Fetterman went even further to mark his distance from progressives or more radical Democrats. In addition to defending Israel unfailingly and immigration control, the Democrat said that, in recent years, both "the right" and "the left" have wished him ill.
"What I have found out over the last couple years is that the right, and now the left, are hoping that I die," said Fetterman, who is undoubtedly positioning himself as one of the most independent Democratic politicians along party lines.
"There are ones that are rooting for another blood clot. They have both now been wishing that I die," he added.
