Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman confirmed he will meet with President-elect Trump ahead of the former and upcoming president’s second inauguration on Jan. 20.
‘President Trump invited me to meet, and I accepted. I’m the senator for all Pennsylvanians – not just Democrats in Pennsylvania,’ Fetterman told Fox News on 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,’ he added.
A source familiar with the meeting told Fox Digital it will take place over the weekend at Mar-a-Lago. It will be the first known meeting between Trump and a sitting Democratic senator at Mar-a-Lago.
Fetterman endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president during the 2024 election cycle but was one of the few Democrats who spoke publicly about Trump earning a strong showing of support among voters – most notably in his battleground home state of Pennsylvania.
‘There’s a difference between not understanding, but also acknowledging that it exists,’ Fetterman told the New York Times in October of Trump’s support. ‘And anybody who spends time driving around, and you can see the intensity. It’s astonishing.’
In another interview ahead of the election, Fetterman acknowledged Pennsylvania voters shared a ‘connection’ with Trump before also launching expletives directed at Trump and mocking the former president’s campaign.
‘I’ve been saying this, whether it was Biden or then became Harris, I said it’s going to be very close. And Trump definitely has a connection with voters here in Pennsylvania, and that’s why it’s going to be close,’ Fetterman said on CNN’s ‘State of the Union’ in November ahead of Election Day.
Trump ultimately won Pennsylvania, which served as a key state in him securing the election overall. Following the win, Fetterman said it was a ‘serious flex’ and chastised Democratic rhetoric ahead of the election that attempted to case Trump as a ‘fascist.’
‘I think this election was a serious flex for bros. And you know, it was strange that Democrats are like, ‘Oh, childless cat ladies. How dare you.’ OK, that is weird. I don’t know why [JD] Vance would say that – you can be pro-family without insulting people that choose not to have kids or are unable to have kids,’ Fetterman said.
‘I love people that are absolutely going to vote for Trump. They’re not fascists. They’re not those things. I think if you go to the tickle switch, use those kinds of terms, then it’s kind of hard to walk back on those things. That’s kind of a word that really isn’t part of the vernacular for voters. Scolding harder or clutching the pearls harder, that’s never going to work for Democrats,’ Fetterman said.
