September 10, 2026
GREG WOHLFORD/USA Today via Reuters Connect
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) appeared in a video to introduce Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) at the GOP convention in Dallas this week. Above, McCormick, left, and Fetterman arrive for a roundtable discussion last month in Erie.
Democratic U.S. Sen. John Fetterman made a surprise video appearance Wednesday at the GOP convention in Dallas, praising Republican Sen. Dave McCormick while vowing the pair of Pennsylvanians would continue working with President Donald Trump to "defend the steel way of life right here in the Steel Valley."
The brief, prerecorded appearance, which wasn't advertised on the convention's schedule, showed a deepening rift between Fetterman and mainstream Democrats. The video boosted speculation that Fetterman could switch parties.
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"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 video, where he stood in front of a U.S. Steel mill in Braddock, Pennsylvania, roughly 10 miles outside Pittsburgh.
Fetterman also distanced himself from a wave of progressive Democrats, some affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America, who have won primaries this year.
"I'm always going to stand with America," he said. "I'm always going to reject the extremes and socialism and that anti-American way of life."
In addition to a more ideological divide with Democrats over issues such as Fetterman's strong support for Israel amid the continuing war in Gaza, Fetterman has taken heat from former aides who told the Wall Street Journal that he is indifferent toward his job.
Wednesday's video introduced McCormick before the GOP senator took the convention stage.
Fetterman lauded McCormick as "the kind of senator that gets the job done" and is "going to fight for Pennsylvania."
"I have this opportunity to introduce this great American, a great senator, and yes, he's in a different party, but I'm proud to count him as my great friend," he added.
Democratic members of Congress criticized Fetterman's cameo at the convention.
"A year ago I labeled John Fetterman 'Trump’s favorite Democrat,'" U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, a Pennsylvania Democrat, posted to social media. "Tonight, he yet again proves why."
Delaware Democratic U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride compared Trump’' presidency to a historic disaster.
"Being a Democratic politician who decides to speak at Trump's midterm convention is like boarding the Titanic after it hit the iceberg," she wrote.
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