Accusing Progressives of Wanting to Destroy Israel, Fetterman Threatens to Quit Dems if Van Hollen Leads Senate

US Sen. John Fetterman on Saturday again threatened to leave the Democratic Party if Sen. Chris Van Hollen is elected majority leader in January, saying he doesn't think he'll find "any more common ground" with progressives, whom he falsely accused of wanting to destroy Israel and the United States.

Fetterman (D-Pa.) appeared on Fox News' "Saturday in America," whose host, former Trump White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, began the interview by noting that the senator "tried to stop" progressives endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America from winning their midterm races.

McEnany played footage of Fetterman previously calling progressives "incredibly anti-American" and "willing to even wipe their mouths with the American flag." In another clip played by the host, Fetterman laments what he called "the dancing days of the dirtbag left" and says he doesn't get along with Sen-elect Abdul El-Sayed (D-Mich.), whom he baselessly said "absolutely supports Sharia law."

Asked if there's a "red line for you if the party does go far left that you would walk away," Fetterman replied, "Yeah, absolutely."

"It would be troubling if my caucus elects someone like Van Hollen (D-Md.)," he continued. "[He] has really made his name being very... hostile to Israel. You know, if you are going to be angry or hostile towards any countries in the region, why not make that, you know, Iran or Hezbollah or Hamas as well, too?"

Van Hollen is challenging Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for the post of majority leader following Democrats' "blue tsunami" midterm victory. Van Hollen has criticized Israel for what a UN commission of inquiry and many other experts have called its genocide in Gaza and what the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has found to be an illegal occupation and apartheid in the West Bank. He has supported measures to stop the sale of offensive weapons to Israel.

"Both in the House, now in the Senate, now their first instincts are to punish Israel," Fetterman said of the nation facing a genocide case at the ICJ, and whose prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, including murder and forced starvation.

Fetterman contended that progressives "can't identify Iran as an enemy" and are "committed to destroying Israel and our nation as well."

The senator also described himself as "pro-data center," a position at odds with not only progressives and many corporate Democrats, but also numerous Republicans.

While insisting that he's still a Democrat, Fetterman said that "I don't expect my party to change, but I'm always going to put our country before party."

Asked about Pennsylvania Democratic Senate candidate Ahmed Moor, who was born in Gaza, Fetterman falsely denounced the Philadelphia writer and entrepreneur as "someone who is very... pro-Hamas."

Fetterman hasn't said whether he will seek reelection in 2028.

"I am always going to support Israel," stressed Fetterman, who has taken nearly half a million dollars in campaign contributions from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's United Democracy Project and other Zionist interests, according to Track AIPAC.

This isn't the first time that Fetterman has threatened to quit the Democratic Party over the issue of Israel. After he did so earlier this year, one journalist quipped, "What region of Pennsylvania is Israel located in?"

President Donald Trump has also urged Fetterman—who has voted with Republicans on matters ranging from supporting the Iran War to approving the president's nominees—to switch parties.

Responding to Saturday's interview, Sarah Jones and Jason Easley wrote for the progressive site The Daily that "one of the positives of Democrats winning a large Senate majority is that John Fetterman... has no power and leverage."

"Since John Fetterman backed the wrong horse, he is now playing his last card: threatening to leave the Democratic Party," Jones and Easley added.

The Contrarian editor-in-chief Jen Rubin called Fetterman's threat "a great reason to vote for Van Hollen."

Calling Fetterman "fucking delusional," Rubin added, "don't let the door hit you on the way out."