{"id":916074,"date":"2026-06-28T18:13:50","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T23:13:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/28\/john-fettermans-fall-from-hero-to-heretic-exposes-democrats-hard-left-turn\/"},"modified":"2026-06-28T18:13:50","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T23:13:50","slug":"john-fettermans-fall-from-hero-to-heretic-exposes-democrats-hard-left-turn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/28\/john-fettermans-fall-from-hero-to-heretic-exposes-democrats-hard-left-turn\/","title":{"rendered":"John Fetterman\u2019s fall from hero to heretic exposes Democrats\u2019 hard left turn"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div id=\"beyondwords-wrapper\" data-layout-index=\"5\">\n<p><span>NEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles!\n  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">In 2016, when <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_opinion_article_main-content_article-body_6_236555\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/person\/alexandria-ocasio-cortez\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez<\/a> was mixing cocktails at a bar in Union Square, John Fetterman, then the mayor of Braddock, Pennsylvania, was one of the original Bernie Bros.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">During his first unsuccessful run for U.S. Senate, Fetterman was a lonely voice supporting Bernie Sanders&#8217; upstart primary challenge against <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_opinion_article_main-content_article-body_6_236556\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/person\/hillary-clinton\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hillary Clinton<\/a>. In his endorsement video, Fetterman said he and Sanders &#8220;stand together as the most progressive candidates in our respective races.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">A decade later, Fetterman may not have changed, but his political party cannot say the same.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Today, Fetterman is a Democratic U.S. senator from Pennsylvania. Once again, he is on a political island for a very different reason. Despite voting 91% of the time with his party, the brash, outspoken former progressive darling enjoys higher marks among Republican voters (73%) than Democrats (22%) in his own state.<\/p>\n<div data-layout-index=\"5\">\n<div><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\"  height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\"  height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\"  height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\"  height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1200\/675\/fetterman.png?ve=1&#038;tl=1\" alt=\"john fetterman\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><\/picture><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., speaks to a reporter as he arrives in the U.S. Capitol for a vote Dec. 3, 2025.<\/span> <span>(Bill Clark\/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_opinion_article_main-content_article-body_6_236557\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/knives-out-fetterman-democrats-turn-one-time-progressive-star\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>KNIVES OUT FOR FETTERMAN AS DEMOCRATS TURN ON ONE-TIME PROGRESSIVE STAR<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">He has become <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_opinion_article_main-content_article-body_6_236558\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/knives-out-fetterman-maverick-senator-joins-long-line-dems-punished-breaking-from-left\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a political outcast<\/a>. Fellow members of the Pennsylvania delegation are musing about a primary challenge in 2028. Speculation is running high about Fetterman switching parties, an idea he has poured cold water on.<\/p>\n<blockquote data-layout-index=\"5\">\n<p>John Fetterman has said his &#8220;values have not changed.&#8221; But his party&#8217;s values have.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Ocasio-Cortez is the talk of the town for a different reason. She is endorsing left-wing candidates across the country. She and Sanders have barnstormed the nation on their so-called Fighting Oligarchy tour, which, according to <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_opinion_article_main-content_article-body_6_236559\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a> reports, relies on private jets and chauffeured limousines to get around. Her name is rising fast on lists of potential 2028 presidential candidates.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">How did the script flip so fast in 10 years?<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_opinion_article_main-content_article-body_6_236560\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/opinion\/david-marcus-sanders-aoc-comedy-tour-sign-far-left-desperation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>DAVID MARCUS: SANDERS-AOC COMEDY TOUR IS SIGN OF FAR-LEFT DESPERATION<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">For clues, look to Fetterman\u2019s so-called &#8220;sins.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">He has stressed the <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_opinion_article_main-content_article-body_6_236561\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/fetterman-defies-punitive-punishment-breaking-democratic-party-during-bipartisan-discussion\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">need for a secure southern<\/a> border. He took his party\u2019s reflexive anti-Trump positioning to task, noting, &#8220;The president could come out for ice cream and lazy Sundays, and my party would suddenly hate them.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Fetterman has not only been outspoken in his support for <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_opinion_article_main-content_article-body_6_236562\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/world\/world-regions\/israel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Israel<\/a> \u2014 especially since the terrorist attacks of Oct. 7, 2023 \u2014 but has gone a step further and called out the &#8220;rot in my party standing with pro-Hamas people.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_opinion_article_main-content_article-body_6_236563\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/john-fetterman-slams-anti-israel-rot-democratic-party-rejects-aoc-claims-gaza-genocide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>JOHN FETTERMAN SLAMS ANTI-ISRAEL &#8216;ROT&#8217; IN DEMOCRATIC PARTY, REJECTS AOC CLAIMS OF GAZA &#8216;GENOCIDE&#8217;<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">The <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_opinion_article_main-content_article-body_6_236564\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/us\/democratic-party\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Democratic Party<\/a>, meanwhile, has a different perspective. Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, someone who has been working hard to raise his national profile, has encouraged the party to rethink its &#8220;reflexive and unconditional support for Israeli governments.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Sanders has not only stood by his support of Graham Platner, the scandal-plagued and embattled <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_opinion_article_main-content_article-body_6_236566\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/us\/us-regions\/northeast\/maine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Maine<\/a> Senate candidate, but also rushed to his defense.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Fetterman has taken a different approach, calling it &#8220;crazy&#8221; that &#8220;the guy who\u2019s going to win the primary in Maine \u2026 has a Nazi tattoo on his chest, and that&#8217;s no problem for a lot of voters.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_opinion_article_main-content_article-body_6_236567\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/fetterman-compares-dems-defense-tacky-gross-platner-another-disgraced-ex-lawmaker\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>FETTERMAN COMPARES DEMS&#8217; DEFENSE OF &#8216;TACKY AND GROSS&#8217; PLATNER TO DISGRACED EX-LAWMAKER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Platner, for his part, has returned the favor, describing Fetterman as the &#8220;bane&#8221; of his existence.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Therein lies Fetterman\u2019s challenge. He has said his &#8220;<a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_opinion_article_main-content_article-body_6_236568\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/faith-values\/values\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">values<\/a> have not changed.&#8221; But his party&#8217;s values have.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Take a quick look at some of their policy ideas.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_opinion_article_main-content_article-body_6_236569\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/opinion\/democrats-paid-price-abandoning-moderate-clinton-era-policies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>DEMOCRATS PAID THE PRICE FOR ABANDONING MODERATE CLINTON-ERA POLICIES<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Last decade\u2019s &#8220;Fight for $15&#8221; on the minimum wage has morphed into New York City Mayor <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_opinion_article_main-content_article-body_6_236570\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/person\/zohran-mamdani\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Zohran <\/a><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_opinion_article_main-content_article-body_6_236570\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/person\/zohran-mamdani\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mamdani\u2019s<\/a> quest for &#8220;$30 by 2030.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_opinion_article_main-content_article-body_6_236573\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/person\/barack-obama\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Barack <\/a><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_opinion_article_main-content_article-body_6_236573\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/person\/barack-obama\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Obama\u2019s<\/a> &#8220;rock solid&#8221; commitment to the people of Israel in 2012 has given way to Sanders accusing Israel of &#8220;committing genocide in Gaza.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_opinion_article_main-content_article-body_6_236575\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/opinion\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Obama\u2019s praise of the fracking revolution and natural gas yielded to Ocasio-Cortez&#8217;s &#8220;<a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_opinion_article_main-content_article-body_6_236576\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/topic\/green-new-deal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Green New Deal<\/a>&#8221; and the push to eliminate fossil fuels.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">And John Fetterman, one of the original Sanders backers when almost everyone else in his party was with Clinton, has become an outright pariah.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&#038;af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&#038;af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">These days, Democratic primary voters are much more aligned with Ocasio-Cortez&#8217;s &#8220;Tax the Rich&#8221; philosophy than Fetterman\u2019s hoodies and shorts. As the <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_opinion_article_main-content_article-body_6_236578\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/fetterman-under-fire-gov-shapiro-pushes-wild-card-senator-get-back-being-democrat\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">party&#8217;s center has moved leftward<\/a>, common sense and practicality are nowhere to be found.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_opinion_article_main-content_article-body_6_236579\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/person\/r\/colin-reed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM COLIN REED<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Colin Reed is a Republican strategist, former campaign manager for Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown and co-founder of South and Hill Strategies.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> Buffy Block<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/opinion\/john-fettermans-fall-hero-heretic-exposes-democrats-hard-left-turn\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! In 2016, when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was mixing cocktails at a bar in Union Square, John Fetterman, then the mayor of Braddock, Pennsylvania, was one of the original Bernie Bros. During his first unsuccessful run for U.S. Senate, Fetterman was a lonely voice supporting Bernie Sanders&#8217; upstart primary<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":916075,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[114515,150646],"tags":[114514,150645],"class_list":["post-916074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fettermans","category-heretic","tag-fettermans","tag-heretic"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/916074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=916074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/916074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/916075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=916074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=916074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=916074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}