Democratic Sen. John Fetterman said Sunday he’s fine with the praise he’s gotten from conservatives — as he took another swipe at the “pup-tent for Hamas’’ protests of anti-Israel US college students.
The pro-Israel pol from Pennsylvania, who earned a reputation for hewing far to the left before landing in the Senate, has drawn some acclaim from the right for his staunch defense of the Jewish state and occasional pushback against progressives — all of which has helped him woo Republican donors.
“I don’t have, like, a litmus test,” the Keystone State Democrat told NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday,” referring to issues he backs.
“We don’t have to agree on everything,” he added of himself and other Dems.
Fetterman, who previously backed lefty Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for president, has voted roughly in the middle of the pack among Senate Democrats, according to GovTrack.
But his unabashed support for Israel has rankled progressives.
On Sunday, as hundreds of students on college campuses including prestigious Columbia University in Manhattan staged sit-ins against Israel, Fetterman remained unbowed.
“I will say this: that it’s very clear there is a very germ of antisemitism in all of these protests. And then sometimes, it flares up and again,” Fetterman said.
“Of course, it’s a great American value to protest, but I don’t believe living in a pup tent for Hamas is really helpful,” he said, referring to the Palestinian terror group at war with Israel.
Last week, Fetterman demanded that Columbia President Minouche Shafik do her “job or resign” in terms of controlling what he called the school’s “antisemitic, unconscionable, and dangerous” student protests.
Fetterman insisted Sunday that he ditched the progressive label long ago.
“I’ve been saying that for years — I really don’t identify myself as progressive,” Fetterman said. “And I’ve said this before, it’s not that I’ve changed but that word has changed.
“I’m just a Democrat, and I’ve been very clear, and I think consistent,” he said.
The pol expressed pride in how the Senate recently managed to bridge the partisan divide and pass a $95 billion aid package for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.
“It’s very clear that in Washington, you got to work together for what’s the right thing. And I was very proud to vote for the gigantic bill just less than a week ago,” Fetterman said.
“That’s a dramatic statement that we made and the House, first standing with democracy and our allies,” he went on. “And I don’t understand why anybody would vote against that. But I can still have a beer with them.”
Among Democrats, the roughly $26 billion package for military support to Israel and humanitarian aid to Gaza’s Palestinian residents proved to be divisive.
But Fetterman said Sunday that some things are crystal-clear.
“I can’t end that war, Joe Biden can’t end that war, [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamkin] Netanyahu can’t end that war. But Hamas could end it right now,” he said.
