CNN’s Jake Tapper talked to Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) on Tuesday about a wide range of topics, including how younger people are losing support for President Joe Biden’s strong support for Israel.
At one point, Tapper said, “Let’s talk about Israel and the differences in the Democratic Party, especially among young voters when it comes to Israel’s war against Hamas.” He also said,
Seventy-two percent of young voters, according to this new poll, disapprove of how President Biden is handling the Israel-Hamas war. You’ve been very vocal in your full support for Israel. I see the Israeli flag behind you and your office there. You’ve been very clearly arguing that Hamas bears responsibility for the tragedy of what’s going on in Gaza. Why do you think so many younger people, especially in your party, see it differently?
“I don’t know at all,” she said. “I know that TikTok gives a lot of people their point of view,” Fetterman answered, adding:
And I think if you’re kind of getting your perspective on the world on TikTok, it’s going to tend to be kind of warped or not reflective of the history and actually the way things absolutely are. And what is very clear is, is that Hamas started this and they actually broke the ceasefire and they attacked and murdered babies, children, women – attacked a music concert and everything. It’s outrageous. And from now on, it’s been very clear that Israel would very much want there to be peace. But they’ve made it very clear that after October 7th, that’s just not possible so long as Hamas is allowed to exist.
Tapper then asked Fetterman about calling someone “progressive” and how he felt about it recently. “About immigration, which is a big topic in the Senate right now. Like I said, you recently said, “I hope Democrats can understand that worrying about the border isn’t racist.” You ran for lieutenant governor and senator as a leftist, but now you don’t want to be called that. He asked, “What would you call yourself?”
The other person replied, “I’d just call myself a Democrat.”
And I believe that I’m on the right side of issues, whether that’s being very pro-choice, maybe that I believe that is being pro-union. And if I believe that’s for pro-Israel on that as well, too.
There’s absolutely different kinds of opinions in the Democratic Party, and I’ve always been very clear that I’m going to stand on the right side of what I believe it is. And I’ve been very upfront on that as well, too. And I really have been able to find anybody that can say there’s not any kind of an issue right now on the border that has around 270,000 people being encountered on the border just in one month.
And to put that in perspective, as I’ve said before, that’s the side of Pittsburgh and it’s roughly the size of Pittsburgh is showing up in the border. If that’s what you need to say, that’s fine. That’s not really an issue. As a progressive, then I guess that’s why I wouldn’t be a progressive. But I have remained and will always be very, very pro-immigration, perhaps as much as anybody in there.