Trump says he would love to see Fetterman become a Republican

The short version

• Trump publicly urged Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania to switch parties and become a Republican.[ABC News]
• Trump said Fetterman does better as a Republican, calling the remarks among his most direct overtures to bring him into the GOP.[ABC News]
• Fetterman has repeatedly rejected becoming a Republican, and his representative had not responded to a request for comment.[ABC News]
• The remarks came weeks before midterms that could cost Republicans their Senate majority, and Trump also raised a possible renomination obstacle for Fetterman.[ABC News]

Key facts

• Trump said at Joint Base Andrews on Saturday, after a rally in Tennessee, that he would love to see Fetterman as a Republican.[ABC News]
• Trump said Fetterman does better as a Republican than as a Democrat.[ABC News]
• The remarks were among Trump's most direct overtures to bring Fetterman into the GOP, which could lose its Senate majority in next month's elections.[ABC News]
• Fetterman has repeatedly rejected becoming a Republican, and in May he wrote in The Washington Post that he would be a poor Republican who still mostly votes with Democrats.[ABC News]
• Fetterman has split with Democrats on issues including immigration and Israel, which has fueled speculation that he might switch parties.[ABC News]
• In September, Fetterman described himself seemingly inadvertently as a lifelong Republican during a fireside chat at the Texas Tribune festival in Austin.[The Guardian]
• Democrats need to pick up four seats to retake the Senate majority, a prospect the reporting calls once remote but still challenging.[ABC News]

Sources

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.

• Trump urges Sen. John Fetterman to switch parties and become a RepublicanABC News - US News
• Trump urges John Fetterman to switch parties: ‘I’d love to see him as a Republican’The Guardian - US