Fetterman was asked why he isn’t an independent. Then he accidentally said, ‘Because I’m a lifelong Republican’

Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania sat down with Major Garrett for the closing keynote at the Texas Tribune Festival on Saturday. He used the conversation to defend staying in the Democratic Party while arguing that the party should accept a wider range of views. While doing so, he made a slip-up that immediately went viral online. 

According to the Texas Tribune, Fetterman said he still sides with Democrats on most partisan votes and does not see a reason to switch parties.

“I don’t have a reason to,” Fetterman said. “But for a big-tent situation, it’s easier to be included in that big tent to say America deserved 9/11 or America is worse than Al-Qaida than being very proud to stand on the side of Israel.” An audience member later asked why he would not simply become an independent. “Because I’m a lifelong Republican,” he said, putting his hand to his head after catching the mistake. “I guarantee you that will break through. That will get clipped.”

Festival remarks covered party loyalty, Senate work, and election timing

Support for Fetterman among Democratic voters has dropped as he has backed Israel and broken with his party on government funding and Trump nominees. He has repeatedly denied plans to leave the party, as when he recently warned about a specific red line that would push him out.

He provided the deciding vote against limiting President Donald Trump’s use of force in Iran. Since 2025, he has been the least reliable Democratic vote in the Senate, and that record has fed talk that he might leave the party. Republicans have tried to recruit him. Fetterman has kept saying he is a Democrat. “I’m not a Republican,” he said.

Fetterman sparked further controversy with a surprise one-minute video message at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas on September 9, 2026. He has also become a regular presence on Fox News, a habit that has further frustrated Democrats.

He also answered recent criticism of how he does the job. A Wall Street Journal report this month said he had avoided constituent meetings. A Philadelphia Inquirer editorial board piece called him a lazy senator. Fetterman pointed instead to spending and projects he said he had won for Pennsylvania, including work done with the Trump administration.

Earlier this month, he said in a statement that he would “still be the 51st vote that I ran on” if Democrats take control of the Senate. At the festival, he said people should wait until after November before guessing what he will do in the next Congress.

“Wait till the midterms. See what I do,” Fetterman said. “Let’s revisit after the midterm and see what happens if I happen to be 51.”

Wearing his usual hoodie and gym shorts, he said he is also holding off on a final call about running for another term in 2028. “I am fundraising with that as the possibility,” Fetterman said.

A poll last month from The New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and Siena University found that nearly two-thirds of Pennsylvania Democrats view him unfavorably. The same survey indicated Pennsylvania Republicans view him more favorably than they view Republican Sen. Dave McCormick. Fetterman said he has “no path as a Republican.”

“If the Democratic Party votes me out or expels me, they’re always entitled to do that,” he said. He used Texas Sen. John Cornyn as an example while criticizing purity tests. Cornyn lost his primary this spring to Attorney General Ken Paxton. 

“He’s a rock-ribbed conservative, and what happened to him?” Fetterman asked. “If we want a big tent party that people say, then the big tent for me means I happen to believe it is appropriate to hold Iran accountable and to stand with Israel throughout the Gaza war.”

Fetterman won his seat in 2022 with help from Sen. Bernie Sanders and later told Sanders to “maybe sit a few out” after Sanders backed left-wing primary candidates. In that convention video, he rejected “the extremes of socialism.”