ByIDAN KWELLERSEPTEMBER 10, 2026 17:40For one extraordinary moment on Thursday night, the giant screens at the Republican convention in Dallas did not show another minister in the Trump administration, a Republican member of Congress, or a party candidate. Instead, they showed John Fetterman, the sitting Democratic senator from Pennsylvania.“Why am I here speaking with you today? Because, well, I am a common-sense Democrat,” Fetterman said in a prerecorded video. “I will always stand with America. I will always reject extremism, socialism, and this anti-American way of life.”Fetterman appeared in the video with the Mon Valley Works steel plant in western Pennsylvania behind him and devoted most of his remarks to his Senate colleague, Republican Dave McCormick.“Dave McCormick is the kind of senator who gets things done, and he will fight for Pennsylvania,” he said. “I am proud to call him my friend.”He then pointed to the steel plant behind him and said, “Right over my shoulder is this iconic American steel plant. And this is exactly the kind of thing that we are going to work together on, and work with President Trump to fight for and protect the steel way of life, right here in the Steel Valley.”U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) looks on as U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Rand Paul (R-KY) presides over a vote whether to hold Anthony Fauci, the former director of the NIAID, contempt for having invoked the 5th Amendment. (credit: Nathan Howard/Reuters)Fetterman presents Republican Senator McCormick as 'great friend' Then came an introduction rarely heard from a Democratic senator on the stage of the opposing party’s convention.“I have the opportunity to introduce this great American, a great senator. And yes, he is in a different party, but I am proud to call him a great friend of mine. So for everyone there in Dallas, I am here to introduce Dave McCormick.”McCormick took the stage and responded with a gesture of his own.“How great is John Fetterman?” he told the crowd, thanking him for his “friendship” and his “courage.”Shortly afterward, a White House account shared the video with the caption, “Based John Fetterman.”“Based” is internet slang used as praise, describing someone who is not particularly concerned about what others think of their views, or a position seen as bold and worthy of admiration because it breaks with convention. In this context, the meaning is roughly that Fetterman says what he thinks and is not afraid to go against the grain.The episode was especially unusual because Fetterman is not a Republican who switched parties, nor has he announced any intention of doing so. In fact, he repeatedly emphasizes that he remains a Democrat.He also was not appearing to support a Republican candidate currently running against a Democrat for a Senate seat. McCormick already serves as Pennsylvania’s second Republican senator.Even so, the sight of a Democratic senator appearing at the Republican convention, while using some of the language the opposing party uses against the Left, made the moment especially striking. Political commentators in the US described it as an “extraordinary escalation” in the widening rift between Fetterman and his party.His story was unusual long before the night in Dallas.Fetterman, who stands more than two meters tall and for years was known for wearing hoodies and shorts, with an appearance almost as far removed as possible from the traditional image of a US senator, began his political career as mayor of Braddock, a small, struggling steel town in Pennsylvania.He was later elected lieutenant governor of the state, and in 2022 ran for the Senate as a figure many associated with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.Just days before the Democratic primary that year, Fetterman suffered a stroke. He won the primary and later the general election, although he was left with difficulties processing spoken language.Another crisis came just months after he entered the Senate. In February 2023, he voluntarily admitted himself to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment for clinical depression. He later spoke publicly about his mental health struggle and the importance of seeking treatment.Fetterman comes out in staunch support of Israel after October 7But the political shift that transformed him from a popular figure on the Left into a deeply controversial one within his party began largely after October 7.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with US Democratic Senator John Fetterman in Washington, July 29, 2026. (credit: MAAYAN TOAF/GPO)Fetterman came out unequivocally in support of Israel in its war against Hamas, opposed pressure on Israel from parts of the Left, and repeatedly clashed with progressive activists. His support for Israel gradually became one of the clearest fault lines between him and parts of the Democratic Party.In 2024, he also skipped the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, though he said at the time that his decision had nothing to do with political disagreements or Israel.He said his three children were on summer vacation and that he preferred to spend the four days with them. He said he had made the decision even before the presidential debate in June, which eventually led Joe Biden to withdraw from the race.Since Trump returned to the White House, the gap between Fetterman and parts of his party has widened further.He supported several Trump nominees for administration positions, voted alongside Republicans in the fight over the government shutdown, and opposed congressional efforts to end the war in Iran. After Trump’s 2024 election victory, Fetterman became the first Democratic senator to meet with the president-elect at Mar-a-Lago.Fetterman, however, continues to reject claims that he is on his way to becoming a Republican.“I am not going to become a Republican, but I am going to be a Democrat who is going to have a conversation with anybody that is acting in good faith,” he said recently.He also wrote that he would be a “terrible Republican who still votes overwhelmingly with the Democrats.”He has, however, identified one red line, a situation in which, in his words, the Democratic Party becomes an “anti-Israel party.”Fetterman support drops sharply among Pennsylvania DemocratsThe polling illustrates how dramatically his political standing has changed.According to an August New York Times poll cited by AP, only about two in 10 registered Democrats in Pennsylvania had a favorable view of Fetterman, compared with 74% in 2024.Among Republicans in the state, by contrast, 73% viewed him favorably. Senior Democratic officials and activists in Pennsylvania have also said they are not asking him to join them on the campaign trail ahead of the midterm elections.At the same time, his relationship with McCormick has become especially close. The two appear together at events and have even established a joint political fundraising committee, an unusual step for two senators from rival parties.That is why the appearance in Dallas amounted to far more than a one-minute video clip.As the Republican Party held the first midterm election convention of its kind in an effort to energize its voter base ahead of November, it was a Democratic senator who arrived and used some of the same messages Republicans themselves are seeking to put at the center of the campaign, while continuing to insist that he remains in his party.Fetterman did not announce that he was crossing party lines. Instead, he did something perhaps even harder to fit into Washington’s conventional political categories: He appeared at the opposing party’s convention, praised a Republican senator as his friend, pledged to work with Trump, and in the same breath reminded everyone, “Yes, I am a Democrat.”Follow us on Google