Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said the Democratic Party's political tent has become more accommodating to figures who say America deserved the Sept. 11 attacks than to Democrats who strongly support Israel, describing a shift in his party that has increasingly put him at odds with many of his colleagues.
Fetterman made the comparison at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin while CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett asked whether there were any circumstances under which he would leave the Democratic Party.
«It's easier to be included in that big tent to say 'America deserved 9/11' or America is 'worse than Al-Qaeda' than being very proud to stand on the side of Israel,» Fetterman said. He added that «more and more members of my caucus are becoming more and more anti-Israel.»
The senator's reference to the 9/11 remark pointed to streamer Hasan Piker, who made the statement during a 2019 livestream before later saying he «obviously» did not believe Americans deserved the terrorist attacks. Fetterman cited the attention Piker's appearances receive as evidence of where political energy is building on the left.
«I'm just describing that's where a lot of the energy on the left is in my party,» he said.
The comments come as Democratic voters' attitudes toward Israel have shifted sharply in recent years. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in March found that 80% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents held an unfavorable view of Israel, up from 53% in 2022. Overall, 60% of American adults viewed Israel unfavorably.
«80% Democrats have a negative view on Israel,» Fetterman said. «If America stops supporting Israel or turns their back on Israel, that must mean that we don't even believe in ourselves anymore. I mean that's our special ally and that is the kinds of values and the kinds of how we live here that's the only exists in one place in that region and that's Israel.»
Fetterman said his support for Israel amounts to a matter of moral clarity and that a formal break with the party would come only if Democrats officially became an anti-Israel party.
«If our party ever becomes, and just makes it official, the anti-Israel party, that's when I would leave, because that's been a moral clarity for me,» he said.
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin addressed the internal tension in comments on Monday, defending Democrats as a «big tent» party while distancing the national committee from Piker.
«Let me just say that I think it's absolutely disgusting and deplorable the things that Hasan Piker has said,» Martin said. «But he does not represent the Democratic Party, and he certainly doesn't represent the viewpoints of almost every one of our candidates and our elected officials.»
Piker did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Fetterman also referenced resolutions introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., while discussing Democratic opposition to Israeli military assistance. In April, 40 Senate Democrats voted to block a $295 million sale of bulldozers to Israel and 36 supported blocking a $151.8 million sale of 1,000-pound bombs. Those resolutions did not concern Iron Dome funding, which Fetterman separately cited Saturday as an example of defensive assistance to Israel.
The exchange in Austin highlights a broader debate inside the Democratic coalition over the direction of its foreign policy and the boundaries of its ideological tent. Fetterman, who has positioned himself as one of the party's most vocal supporters of Israel, has repeatedly said he would remain in the party even as he criticizes its drift. His remarks Saturday suggested that the dividing line for him is not any single policy vote but the party's formal identity.
For Democratic leaders, the challenge is balancing a base that has grown markedly more critical of Israel with elected officials and donors who maintain strong support for the U.S.-Israel relationship. Martin's response sought to draw a distinction between the party's mainstream and figures like Piker, whose comments have drawn condemnation from Democrats across the spectrum.
The Pew data Fetterman cited underscores how quickly the ground has moved. In 2022, a slim majority of Democrats held an unfavorable view of Israel. By this year, that figure had risen to 80%, a shift that has been reflected in congressional votes and in primary challenges to incumbents seen as too supportive of Israeli military operations.
Fetterman's comparison between tolerance for anti-Israel rhetoric and tolerance for comments about 9/11 was aimed at what he described as a double standard within the party's big tent. Whether that argument resonates with Democratic voters will be tested in coming elections, as candidates navigate a coalition that is increasingly divided over the Middle East.