5 times John Fetterman broke with Democrats in CNN interview

US Sen. John Fetterman continues to act as the Democratic Party’s “black sheep” in the US Senate after embracing President Donald Trump in a recent CNN interview. 

US Sen. John Fetterman has been one of President Donald Trump’s biggest boosters within the Democratic Party since  taking office for a second term last January. 

Whether it was being the only Democrat to travel to Mar-a-Lago, or supporting Trump’s $200 million ballroom expansion, Fetterman has found himself standing side-by-side with Trump on numerous occasions, and his interview with CNN from this past weekend is the latest example. 

Here are five takeaways from Fetterman’s interview with CNN. 

Fetterman wants Democrats to stop calling Trump names

Fetterman isn’t happy with members of his own party calling Trump an “autocrat.” 

“If you compare [Trump] to an actual autocrat, that…it’s not just that,” Fetterman said during the interview, and added “this is not an actual autocrat, this is a product of a democratic election.”

Fetterman called on Democrats to turn down the temperature in the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination, but refused to call out Trump for smashing modern democratic norms.

“ I’m saying he’s definitely different, but that’s what America voted for. Again, I don’t agree with many of these things, but that does not make him autocratic,” Fetterman said.

Fetterman supports Trump’s use of the National Guard in Democratic cities

Fetterman pointed to Chicago’s high crime rate, which is actually at its lowest since prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, to justify Trump’s use of the National Guard in some of the country’s largest cities.  

“ All I’m saying that it’s like when 600 people are killed in Chicago, you know, every year. I think it’s entirely appropriate,” Fetterman said 

Fetterman would welcome National Guard with open arms

Fetterman called on Democrats to welcome the National Guard into their cities with open arms. At one point during the interview, Fetterman said he would accept national guard members being deployed to his city if it had an issue with crime. 

“ If I was a mayor, and I had a significant kind of violence situation, I would be happy to get help, honestly, for that,” Fetterman said.

Government Shutdown. What shutdown?

Democrats are talking about possibly shutting down the federal government at the end of the month if Republicans in Congress don’t move bills that keep healthcare affordable for millions of Americans. 

Fetterman, who was against shutting the government down earlier this year, is once again in support of keeping the government operating.

“That’s not fighting. That’s mutilating our nation,” Fetterman said. “If you vote to shut our government down, you are going to harm millions of Americans… It was wrong for the Republicans to do that. It would just be wrong for us.”

Zohran Mamdani and the future of the Democratic Party

Fetterman has been critical about Democratic New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani since he burst onto the political scene earlier this year. He still thinks that Mamdani isn’t the future of the party. 

“I don’t believe that. New York City is not reflective of our national political things. Certainly the states are gonna determine who’s gonna be the next president. So, I don’t take any kinds of lessons or anything.”