Fetterman Might Leave Democratic Party Because the Only Thing He Loves More Than Israel Is Attention

Fetterman Might Leave Democratic Party Because the Only Thing He Loves More Than Israel Is Attention Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., gives thumbs up in an elevator while departing a Senate vote at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on June 15, 2026. Photo: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images Sen. John Fetterman may switch parties, and the reason is simple: The Democrat from Pennsylvania loves nothing like he loves media coverage. Adam Jentleson, Fetterman’s former chief of staff who now heads the centrist Searchlight Institute think tank, said as much this week. “I think, if he is the majority-maker, he will flip, because it would give him a massive amount of attention,” Jentleson said (notus.org › fetterman party switch israel progressives). It’s not hard to see why someone as addicted to attention as Fetterman would make a big deal out of leaving his party, nor why he has doubled and tripled down on it in the past week. After all, this is the same man who has made a spectacle of his appearance, walking around the Senate halls in a hoodie and shorts rather than conform to the business dress code of his peers. Since October 2023, his relationship with the progressive wing of his party has been strained, primarily because of a divide over support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Fetterman is now willing to use his leverage as key player for control of the chamber to help Israel — the main reason he’s said he could change sides. If Democrats continue to oppose Israel, he said, specifically if they do so in their party platform, Fetterman says he’s likely to split. “If our party ever becomes, and just makes it official, the anti-Israel party, that’s when I would leave because that’s been a moral clarity for me,” Fetterman said (foxnews.com) at a convention in Washington last week. A majority of Pennsylvania Democrats want him to leave the party. Swiping at his own party aren’t out of character, and are part of what has led to a rift with the Democratic base. Fetterman’s closeness to right-wing media and penchant for punching left, as well as his loyalty to Israel (theintercept.com › john fetterman israel paid trip nonprofit), make him both a target of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party and one of the least popular incumbents in the country. Related Fetterman Is Sole Democrat to Vote Against Blocking Caribbean Drug Boat Attacks (theintercept.com › venezuela boat strikes senate war powers) Predictably, a bare majority of Pennsylvania Democrats want him to leave the party (thehill.com › 5971631 pennsylvania fetterman democrats poll), almost assuring he won’t make it out of a primary. But switching to the GOP wouldn’t lead to a cakewalk reelection either. By his own admission, Fetterman would be dogged by his own very socially liberal voting record in a Republican primary where he’s also certain to face defeat. That leaves running as an independent who caucuses with Republicans, a move guaranteed to play spoiler for one party’s hopes to control the Senate in 2028, though it’s unclear who he’d hurt more. Presidential Run? Antipathy to the left now defines much of his politics. Earlier this year, in June and July, Fetterman was receiving lots of attention for his criticisms of former Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, repeatedly claiming that there were intimate images of the upstart Democrat online and referring to him as his Reddit moniker, “P-Hustle.” On June 10, the day after Platner won his primary, NOTUS reporter Igor Bobic posted on X that Fetterman was haranguing him (x.com) about the Maine Democrat — “You wanna talk about P-Hustle? You wanna talk about P-Hustle?” — as soon as B