Once a 'fringe Democrat' now Fetterman offers wisdom to win, echos Trump's 'common sense'

Senator John Fetterman, D-Pa., appeared on CNN with host Manu Raju to offer advice to his own party at a time when Democrats seem rudderless and self-admittedly, without a message that says something other than "Trump is bad." 

"Clearly, we've lost the argument and I think it's entirely appropriate to really be honest and figure out why, exactly, have we effectively lost two of the last three cycles and a lot of the things we've really kind of lost our connection with American voters," Fetterman told Raju on the Sunday episode of Inside Politics. 

Fetterman spoke of his party's tendency to make everything about President Donald Trump and called attention to the hyperbole used to describe Trump and warned, "We can't just be, well, 'Trump is always wrong or that we're going to set the country on fire.' That's not true either of course." 

Fetterman: "Don't ever compare people to Hitler."

Fetterman told Raju when asked about Democrats who refer to Trump as an autocrat, he countered, "That's the thing if you actually compare him to an actual autocrat [...] Last night, for example, people were protesting 'That's Hitler, Hitler!' You just don't ever compare anyone to Hitler in those kinds of extreme things."

Raju mentioned voters who feel Democrats don't fight hard enough against Republicans, mainly in Congress. Fetterman proffered, "Well, what exactly is fighting? Delay more votes or just vote 'no' on everything or saying, 'well if they're doing X then that means it's wrong'...What exactly is fighting?" 

Raju predicted that shutting down the government might be what those voters would like to see, as Trump would be blamed. Fetterman said "That's not fighting, that's mutilating our nation. If you vote to shut our government down, you are going to harm millions of Americans."

As the September 30 funding deadline looms, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries are pushing Democrats to risk a government shutdown by opposing any temporary spending bill that doesn't undo Republican Medicaid changes and preserve Affordable Care Act subsidies, potentially disrupting critical government functions for political gain. 

This high-stakes move could strengthen Trump’s hand to enforce budget cuts during a shutdown, as historically, Democrat-led standoffs have often misfired, allowing the executive to redirect funds and claim fiscal discipline. Moderate Democrats like Fetterman are warning of voter backlash over halted services and furloughed workers, while progressives view the shutdown as a strategic move to galvanize their base for the 2026 midterms, economic fallout for ordinary citizens be damned. 

The New York City mayoral election in November sees pro-Palestine, anti-prosperity, democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani running against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is now running as an independent after losing to Mamdani in the primary. Current Mayor Eric Adams, plagued by federal probes and declining popularity, chose not to run in the primary and is now campaigning as an independent. Polls have consistently shown Mamdani with a strong lead in the election.  

While Mamdani has been criticized for a number of issues, including accusations of antisemitism, socialist proposals that could bankrupt the city, and support for efforts to defund law enforcement, many have predicted that he is the future of the Democratic Party. One unnamed business executive told The Financial Times: "Do I or any of my friends want him to win? The answer is no. Emphatically no. But I think there is some room to work with him. I don’t think we have another option.” 

Fetterman disagrees. "I don't believe that. New York City is not reflective of national political things. Certainly the states are going to determine who's going to be the next president, so I don't take any kinds of lessons from that election."

National Guard presence not an occupation

Fetterman also gave advice modeled on Trump's crusade to clean up America's big and usually blue cities, run by Democrats for decades, and to make those cities safer. He referred to Washington, D.C., where the National Guard has been deployed. 

Raju countered, citing cities like Chicago and Baltimore, whose Democratic mayors have rejected Trump's efforts to reduce crime in their cities. Fetterman answered, "I live in Navy Yard [in Philadelphia], I would walk to work and see a lot of National Guard people. Honestly, it wasn't a big deal. They were friendly. It wasn't like they were the Russian army...it's really not an occupied city. 

"When I was the mayor, I was a small-town mayor, I asked for help. I asked for help to confront gun violence and crime. If I was the mayor and I had significant kinds of violence, I would be happy to get help... When 600 people are killed in Chicago every year, I think it's entirely appropriate," Fetterman said. 

Raju raised the additional big-city crime issue regarding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, to which Fetterman stated his position: "I believe we should have a secure border and I absolutely believe you should round up the criminals and I do think you should deport those." 

One recent online poll by civiqs.com of almost 300,000 registered voters shows that although ICE's recent raids have somewhat diminished its public support, still more than half of those polled did not approve of abolishing ICE, and of those who did, 65% identified as Democrats. The chart does not disclose a margin of error. 

Adding a more moderate qualifier to the immigration issue, he told Raju, "But I don't think it's really helpful to raid a factory and round up all of them and deport them."