Democratic senator John Fetterman has made a surprise video appearance at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, praising Pennsylvania Republican Dave McCormick and saying he would work with Donald Trump to defend the US steel industry.
In the roughly one-minute recording shown on Wednesday, September 9, Mr Fetterman described himself as a “common-sense Democrat” and attacked what he called the “extremes in socialism” and an “anti-American way of life”.
Speaking in front of the Mon Valley Works steel mill in western Pennsylvania, he said he and Mr McCormick would “work with President Trump to fight and defend the steel way of life right here in the Steel Valley”.
Mr Fetterman introduced Mr McCormick, a Republican senator from Pennsylvania, as “a great American” and “a great senator”. When he took the stage, Mr McCormick praised Mr Fetterman’s “friendship” and “courage”.
The appearance came at the Republican Party’s first two-day midterm convention, a Trump-centred event intended to energise the party’s supporters ahead of November’s elections.
Mr Fetterman later insisted that the video did not represent a decision to leave the Democratic Party. In a statement, he said he was “a lifelong Democrat who votes overwhelmingly with my party” and would remain “the 51st vote that I ran on” if Democrats won control of the Senate.
His appearance is nevertheless likely to intensify speculation about his political future. The Pennsylvania senator has increasingly broken with Democrats on issues including Iran, last year’s government shutdown and several of Mr Trump’s nominees.
He was also the first Senate Democrat to meet Mr Trump at his Palm Beach residence after the Republican won the 2024 presidential election. Mr Fetterman has said that he is prepared to work with the president when he believes it is in Pennsylvania’s interests.
The steel industry has been a particularly important issue for both senators. Mr Trump eventually approved the acquisition of Pittsburgh-based US Steel by Japan’s Nippon Steel after initially opposing the deal, arguing that it would bring major investment while giving the federal government a “golden share” in the company.
Mr Fetterman has repeatedly denied that he is considering switching parties. In an opinion article published in May, he said he would be “a terrible Republican who still votes overwhelmingly with Democrats”, while warning that he would oppose any move by his party to become “the anti-Israel party”.
Democrats currently need to gain four Republican-held Senate seats in November to take control of the chamber. A party switch by Mr Fetterman would make that task still more difficult.
