Sen. Chris Van Hollen will run for Senate majority leader. John Fetterman says he will leave the Democrats if he wins: ‘Very hostile to Israel’

Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman sat down with Kayleigh McEnany on Fox News’ Saturday in America. During the interview, McEnany returned several times to the question of whether Fetterman has any point at which he would leave the Democratic Party.

She asked him directly if a further leftward shift by the party would count as a red line. Fetterman has been critical of the progressive side of the party. McEnany also brought up Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who has announced he will run for Senate majority leader and whom Fetterman has called a “progressive darling.”

Fetterman answered the red-line question by saying, “Yeah, absolutely. It would be troubling if my caucus elects someone like Van Hollen, that has really made his name being very hostile to Israel.”

Fetterman responds to questions about leaving the party

He went on to contrast that approach with other countries and groups in the region. Fetterman, who has discussed his red lines before, said, “If you are going to be angry or hostile towards any countries in the region, why not make that, you know, Iran? Or Hezbollah? Or Hamas as well too?”

He added, “And now why both in the House and in the Senate, their first instincts are to punish Israel and the withhold this kinds of aid? Why? Why isn’t it your first instinct to say, let’s hold Iran accountable?”

In the same stretch of the interview, Fetterman also spoke about costs at home. He stated, “Now, I’m frustrated by the gas prices, you know, and it’s terrible that Americans have to suffer.”

McEnany then pressed him again on the practical outcome. She asked, “So there’s a chance you could walk away from the Democratic Party if Van Hollen was majority leader?”

Fetterman replied, “Well, I don’t know how that’s going to look, but I am a Democrat. I’ve always said that.” He explained that he had largely stopped doing interviews before the midterms “because there’s a lot of bad, stupid takes and saying things.”

He said he had expected the party majorities to change. At the same time, he noted that “no one, not one single person thought that Kansas or South Carolina or Mississippi [would change].”

Throughout the segment, Fetterman tied his concern about Van Hollen becoming majority leader to the senator’s record on Israel. He described that record as one of being very hostile to Israel while still identifying himself as a Democrat.