Knives out for Fetterman as his popularity with conservatives soars, support for Israel remains strong

U.S. Senator John Fetterman taking a selfie with supporters in Pennsylvania.

U.S. Senator John Fetterman was the subject of a major hit piece published by The Wall Street Journal late Thursday evening. The report cited a number of anonymous sources the Journal described as the senator's former staffers, and some of them shared private text messages sent by Fetterman with the paper.

The major upshot of the story is that Fetterman has brought a lackadaisical approach in his first term as the Keystone State's junior senator, and eschews taking meetings with constituents or attending hearings on a regular basis. But about midway through the article, the true intent of the sources who spoke to The Wall Street Journal reporters becomes clear: They are upset with Fetterman's continued support for Israel, the war with Iran and the fact that he appears frequently on conservative media outlets, like Fox News.

In addition, Fetterman has been working across the aisle, working with Pennsylvania's senior senator, Dave McCormick, a Republican who's been in the Senate for more than 20 years. In fact, the article noted, Fetterman has become more popular with conservative voters in Pennsylvania than McCormick, according to a recent poll. The two senators appeared together at a roundtable discussion in Erie, Pennsylvania, this week, the latest in a string of joint appearances.

The article also put Fetterman's friendship with Katie Britt, a Republican U.S. senator from Alabama, under a microscope. The two became friends in 2023 after Britt visited Fetterman while he was hospitalized.

The story also explored the possibility that Fetterman could leave the Democrat Party and become a Republican, something the senator denied he was considering when asked about it back in May. But more recently, Fetterman has drawn a red line with the Democrats, spelling out what it would take for him to jump across the aisle. 

“If our party ever becomes … the anti-Israel party, you know, that’s when I would leave," Fetterman said in August. Indeed, Fetterman continued this week to say things that few modern Democrats will say. In an appearance on Fox News, Fetterman criticized Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed's public support for Sharia Law. Watch those remarks below. The Wall Street Journal story was published a little more than 24 hours after those comments were made.