Fetterman praises Trump, McCormick in GOP convention video

Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania delivered a surprise video message to the Republican Party’s midterm convention Wednesday, praising GOP Sen. Dave McCormick and pledging to work with President Donald Trump on steel.

“Yes, I’m a Democrat. Why am I here talking to you today? Because, well, I’m a common-sense Democrat,” Fetterman said in the one-minute prerecorded video, filmed outside U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works in the Pittsburgh area. “I’m always going to stand with America. I’m always going to reject the extremes and socialism and that anti-American way of life.”

Fetterman introduced McCormick, his fellow Pennsylvania senator, calling him “the kind of senator that gets the job done” and saying he was “proud to count him as my friend.” Pointing to the steel mill behind him, Fetterman said, “That’s exactly the kind of thing that we’ll work together, and we’ll work with President Trump, to fight and defend the steel way of life, right here in the Steel Valley.”

After taking the stage, McCormick thanked Fetterman for his “friendship” and “courage.” NBC News reported that reaction in the convention hall was initially muted, with only a few attendees cheering during the video, though the crowd applauded loudly when Fetterman finished introducing McCormick.

The appearance underscored Fetterman’s growing distance from many Democrats as the party heads toward November’s elections. CBS News reported that he has backed Trump’s strategy in Iran and broke with congressional Democrats during last year’s government shutdown fight. The Guardian reported that Fetterman was the only Democrat to vote no on several war powers resolutions aimed at curbing the Trump administration’s military action in Iran, and that he joined Republicans on key votes to keep the government open while Senate Democrats withheld support for appropriations bills over expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies.

Fetterman has denied that he is considering switching parties. In a May op-ed cited by CBS News, he wrote, “I’d be a terrible Republican who still votes overwhelmingly with Democrats.” But he has said his red line would be if the Democratic Party became “the anti-Israel party.” CBS News noted that if Fetterman switched parties, it would make Democrats’ path to reclaiming the Senate majority harder; the party currently needs to flip four seats in November to win control.

Fetterman and McCormick have built a close bipartisan relationship, according to NBC News. The two launched a joint fundraising committee, drawing Democratic criticism. Former Fetterman aides who spoke with NBC News criticized the convention appearance, with one calling it “pathetic.” Trè Easton, a former legislative aide to Fetterman, said the move was “really stunning” and questioned the political benefit of embracing Trump.

NBC News also reported that a former top Fetterman aide, speaking anonymously, said last month that Fetterman has referred to McCormick as “his mentor,” that the two often text, and that they have dinner in Pennsylvania. Both senators live in the Pittsburgh area.

The video came after The Wall Street Journal reported, according to NBC News, that former Fetterman aides had provided texts and internal documents detailing what they described as his lack of interest in engaging with constituents. McCormick defended him on X, writing that the stories were “the latest example of outrageously disloyal staff and forces on the Left using anonymous leaks to cancel my friend John Fetterman.”

Fetterman’s standing with Pennsylvania voters has shifted sharply. A New York Times/Philadelphia Inquirer/Siena poll in August found that his favorable rating among Pennsylvania Democrats fell from 74% in 2024 to 22%, while his favorability among Pennsylvania Republicans rose from 25% to 73%.