March 2026 — Iran strikes without congressional authorization
Fetterman posted on X: “President Trump has been willing to do what’s right and necessary to produce real peace in the region. God bless the United States, our great military, and Israel,” and told Fox News he supported the strikes because “that was always the right thing.”

March 2026 — On U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran
Fetterman posted on X: “President Trump has been willing to do what’s right and necessary to produce real peace in the region. God bless the United States, our great military, and Israel.” He then told Fox News: “Well, because that was always the right thing. You can just put out tweets and statements to support peace, but to actually create real peace, you have to do these kinds of actions.”

February 13, 2026 — Sole Democrat to support Homeland Security funding, silent on ICE shootings
Fetterman was the only Democrat to vote in favor of advancing a bill providing a year’s worth of funding to DHS. He has also generally refused to join other Democrats in criticizing the tactics of federal immigration officers, even in the wake of fatal shootings of American citizens by ICE officers in Minneapolis.

January 15, 2026 — Cheering on ICE crackdown after Minneapolis killings
Fetterman broke with fellow Democrats to say on Fox News: “Deport them. They shouldn’t have ever been here. And they definitely have to go,” and called for ICE to “round up all the criminals.” This came directly in the wake of the fatal ICE shootings of American citizens. He also said: “Why can’t we all agree that destroying the Iranian regime would be good for the entire region? Standing with Israel. Secure our border. These are reasonable things.”

January 2026 — Near-silence following ICE killings of American citizens in Minneapolis
Fetterman made no public statement about the death of Renee Nicole Good, a motorist shot to death in Minneapolis by an immigration officer, and his office did not respond to multiple queries about his position. He was the only Senate Democrat not to have criticized either DHS or the fatal shooting of Veterans Administration nurse Alex Pretti by immigration officers. He eventually called for the Minneapolis operation to stand down, but appeared poised to approve more funding for immigration enforcement regardless.

July 10–11, 2025 — On ICE deportations (X/Twitter)
“Absolutely support amnesty for the hardworking, otherwise law-abiding migrant workers. Round up and deport the criminals. We must acknowledge the critical contribution migrants make to our nation’s economy.” Trump responded by praising Fetterman, saying “The new John Fetterman is exactly what you said,” while Fetterman told the Daily Mail that Trump’s praise probably “made my parents proud.”

July 9–10, 2025 — Defending ICE amid mass raids and protests
Fetterman told Fox News: “ICE agents are just doing their job and I fully support that. For me… people in my party might want to abolish it or treat them as criminals or anything, that’s inappropriate and outrageous. ICE performs an important role for our nation.” This came as ICE’s indiscriminate roundups were resulting in videos of unidentified masked agents brutalizing and detaining migrants, the majority of whom had no criminal records.

November 15, 2024 — On Democrats needing to change, post-election
“Here’s the truth, the only governing force that can stop or temper that [Trump’s agenda] is going to be the bravest Republicans in the House or in the Senate. It’s not going to be us because we won’t have the votes.” (NBC News interview)

October 2025 — Voting repeatedly with Republicans to avoid a government shutdown
Fetterman voted 12 times with Republicans on a short-term bill to extend current government funding levels through November 21. During this period, Fetterman said: “Whether it’s Republican or Democrat, whatever is driving the shutdown, that’s always wrong. You may have a noble goal, but that is the wrong tactic.”

September 14, 2025 — Calling Trump “not an autocrat”
Fetterman cautioned against comparing Trump to an autocrat, saying: “We have to turn the temperature down. It’s like we can’t compare people to these kinds of figures in history. And this is not an autocrat. This is a product of a democratic election.” When pressed on whether Trump was shattering democratic norms, Fetterman responded: “He’s definitely different, but that’s what America voted for.”

August 1–2, 2025 — On Trump’s tariffs
When asked by Fox News whether he thought Trump was winning the trade war, Fetterman responded, “Absolutely,” and added: “I’m a huge fan of Bill Maher… he thought that the tariffs were going to tank the economy, and then he acknowledged that it didn’t.” February 2025 — On Elon Musk and DOGE “There’s going to be some that I don’t agree with — maybe they’ll find new kinds of efficiencies. He’s not just like a hack. I mean, he’s a guy that’s the leader of several important companies.” (City & State PA interview)

February 2025 — On welcoming Trump’s Greenland proposal
Fetterman “welcomed Trump’s plan to acquire Greenland and takes the idea seriously,” according to reporting from the same period. 

Early 2025 — On Democrats’ losses and progressive overreach (Financial Times interview)
Fetterman said that progressives had won the 2024 election for Trump and are “intent” on doing it again, adding, “Some of the most extreme voices now are coming from the far-blue places that are removed from the real fight — and that’s down in the important states that decide who’s going to win the White House.”

January 29, 2025 — Attending the Laken Riley Act signing ceremony at the White House
“I believe a secure border creates a more secure nation and it’s just common sense. I believe a stronger border is fully compatible with my commitment to immigration. I believe this nation is tired of leaders in D.C. prioritizing fighting over governing.”

January 13, 2025 — On the Mar-a-Lago meeting with Trump
“He was kind, he was cordial. It wasn’t in any kind of theater. It wasn’t trying to get your picture taken to put something out on social media.” (The View) Also: “President Trump invited me to meet, and I accepted. I’m the senator for all Pennsylvanians — not just Democrats in Pennsylvania. I’ve been clear that no one is my gatekeeper.”

January 8–9, 2025 — On immigration and border enforcement (X/Twitter)
“ICE reported tens of thousands of migrants with criminal records — homicide or sexual assault. 425,000 have criminal records in total and should be deported. I support a secure border. I support a legal path for Dreamers. I support the Laken Riley Act.”

January 7, 2025 — Co-sponsoring the Laken Riley Act (immigration)
“Laken Riley’s story is a tragic reminder of what’s at stake when our systems fail to protect people. No family should have to endure the pain of losing a loved one to preventable violence. Immigration is what makes our country great. I support giving authorities the tools to prevent tragedies like this one while we work on comprehensive solutions to our broken system.” June 2, 2025 — On Israel and border security
At an event celebrating bipartisanship in Boston, Fetterman told the audience that he has lost support from liberals for his belief that border security is important and his continued support for Israel.

In FETTERMAN’s Own Words