“If anyone thinks that’s bonkers, it’s like, well, remember the Louisiana Purchase?” Fetterman said, The New Republic reported.
He defended his decision to travel to Mar-a-Lago in a statement Thursday.
“I’ve been clear that no one is my gatekeeper. I will meet with and have a conversation with anyone if it helps me deliver for Pennsylvania and the nation,” Fetterman said, according to NBC News' Frank Thorp V. “President Trump invited me to meet, and I accepted. I’m the Senator for all Pennsylvanians— not just Democrats in Pennsylvania."
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"I think that one, he's the president, or he will be officially," Fetterman also said, according to CBS News. "And I think it's pretty reasonable that if the president would like to have a conversation — or invite someone to have a conversation — to have it."
"I'm not the person that's going to set what [the conversation is] going to be," Fetterman also told reporters (video below).
And while Senator Fetterman says he does not know what he and the President-elect will discuss, as CBS News noted, Trump "hopes Fetterman will support some of his nominees, including Pete Hegseth for defense secretary, a source said."
During his 2022 Senate campaign, Fetterman was forced to deny he used illegal drugs, after Trump baselessly accused him of doing so.
"Fetterman supports taxpayer-funded drug dens and the complete decriminalization of illegal drugs, including heroin, cocaine, crystal meth, and ultra lethal fentanyl," Trump said, according to People magazine. "By the way, he takes them himself."
Fetterman's support for Republicans' anti-immigrant legislation, the Laken Riley Act—a bill that requires the federal government to detain undocumented immigrants if they have been arrested for crimes such as theft—has also been controversial.
The Pennsylvania lawmaker was the first Democrat to co-sponsor the bill in the Senate, angering immigrants' rights activists, some of whom are calling it, "an attack on constitutional protections and a green light to Trump's mass deportation agenda."
U.S. Senator Ruben Gallego, another freshman Democrat, also co-sponsored the bill.
After passing the House, the bill stalled in the Senate, but Thursday afternoon, the bill appeared headed for passage. Less than ten Democrats voted against allowing the bill to proceed.
"Fetterman and Gallego and a few others are undercutting the possibility of mounting a more united front that could fix its worst elements," The New Republic's Greg Sargent wrote.
Some critics are saying Fetterman appears likely to switch parties, after his apparent embrace of Trump.
"Fetterman is likely to switch parties. Let's face it. Full horseshoe," claimed Tom Watson, who writes "The Liberal" at Substack. "Too many people are forgetting that the Democratic Party is basically a liberal party. There's no possible room for a pro-Trump Democrat to hold major office. If Fetterman thinks being a MAGA Dem is possible, he'll find out it's not," he added.
Meanwhile, Politico reports, Carrie Adams, Fetterman's communications director, "has left his office, a person close to the senator said." She had joined Fetterman’s office in April, "after he lost three top staffers in a matter of months, then drew criticism last year after she was quoted openly disagreeing with her boss’ stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict in an August interview with the Free Press."
"Fetterman’s shifting political persona in Congress has shocked many who worked for him during his 2022 campaign. While he eschewed the 'progressive' label, he had endorsed Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential run and advocated for some left-wing policies in his campaign," Politico adds. "In recent weeks alone, he’s made a habit of taking time to speak to President Donald Trump’s nominees and of reaching across the aisle to work with Republicans on legislation."
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The New Republic also noted the shift in Fetterman's politics.
"Fetterman’s reaction to Trump’s idea [to take over Greenland] seems to be part of a pattern by the Pennsylvania senator, who has boasted about shifting away from progressive politics for more than a year. Pennsylvania’s only Democratic senator even bragged that brain damage resulting from his near-fatal stroke has allowed him to 'say the things that I have to really believe in and not be afraid of if there’s any kind of blowback.'”
In response to Fetterman's remarks on Greenland, investigative journalist Dave Troy noted on Wednesday: "As I've been saying, expect Fetterman to be a cheerleader for all things Musk, Putin, and Trump 2.0 henceforth. And no, it's probably not the brain injury."
Several critics and political observers blasted Fetterman.
"Fetterman is becoming the new Manchin," wrote activist George Takei.
"Fetterman isn't up for reelection till 2028 and already very busy reinventing himself as MAGA friendly," noted HuffPost senior politics reporter Igor Bobic.
Back in December, Fetterman stood for a photo with Trump UN Ambassador nominee Elise Stefanik.
That same month he praised Trump's political acumen while rejecting allegations of fascism for the President-elect.
Watch the videos above or at this link.
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