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CNN’s Van Jones, a former advisor to Barack Obama, defended Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., on Monday and said it shouldn’t be illegal to be a moderate in the Democratic Party.
“Look, I think he is a moderate Democrat, and that should not be illegal in this party,” Jones said during a discussion on CNN’s “The Source with Kaitlin Collins.”
“My God, you have to agree on 100% of 100% of the Berkeley, California agenda to be a Democrat?” he continued. “It doesn‘t make any sense. We‘ve always had moderate Democrats, progressive Democrats have always had some, you know, people who didn‘t fit the mold.”
Politico reported Monday that some Republicans were trying to persuade Fetterman to change his party affiliation. The Democratic senator told the outlet in an interview, “I’m a Democrat, and I’m staying one.”
FETTERMAN SAYS DEMOCRATS HAVE FORGOTTEN IRAN IS ‘THE REAL ENEMY’ AS WAR POWERS DEADLINE APPROACHES
CNN’s Van Jones argued that it shouldn’t be illegal to be a moderate in the Democratic Party, defending John Fetterman during an appearance on May 4, 2026. (Alberto Rodriguez/Variety via Getty Images; Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
Fetterman has faced pushback from members of his Democratic caucus after breaking with them on some issues, like support for Israel and some far-left causes.
Jones said the party’s disconnect with Fetterman showed how “insane” things have become.
“It just shows you how nutty things have gotten, that somebody who wants to stick up for Israel and doesn‘t want an open border is somehow now has to be a Republican,” he said. “That‘s completely insane. I think that John Fetterman would not fit in the Republican Party any better than I would.”
FETTERMAN SAYS ‘MORAL CLARITY’ DRIVES HIS WIDENING BREAK WITH THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., speaks to a reporter as he arrives at the U.S. Capitol for a vote on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Politico reported that Fetterman didn’t outright reject the call in private, and said he “absorbed the suggestion,” citing a GOP official who said the senator responded, “I’d be a s—ty Republican.”
Malcolm Kenyatta, a Democratic National Committee vice chair, slammed Fetterman in April, labeling the senator “a mess.”
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“Almost every day now my US Senator comes on this site to attack his constituents and many people who worked hard to elect him. Suggesting that they have ‘derangement syndrome’ for opposing this administration. You’re a mess @JohnFetterman,” Malcolm Kenyatta asserted in a post on X.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has also called out Fetterman over his response to the war in Iran and said on CNN in April that he “knows better.”
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Jones concluded, “He’s not going to be a Republican, and he should be able to be a Democrat and not get, you know, a bunch of nonsense thrown at him.”
