Fetterman says Democrats have 'forgotten why we lost' and Trump is 'not an autocrat' [View all]

Source: CNN

Democratic Sen. John Fetterman has a warning for his party: learn from the politically charged whirlwind that put Donald Trump back in the White House and secured Republicans control of both chambers of Congress or risk staying in the minority.

“They have forgotten one of the reasons why we lost in 2024,” Fetterman said of his fellow Democrats in a wide-ranging interview with CNN’s Manu Raju on “Inside Politics Sunday.”

The Pennsylvania Democrat, who was first elected by just a five-point margin in 2022, said some of the party’s more left-wing views were “weaponized” against Democrats last fall.

“Some people think now we have to double down on those things or we must become more progressive or more extreme,” said Fetterman, who has renounced the “progressive” label in recent years, continuing, “That’s absolutely not true. The seven or eight states that are going to determine who’s going to be our next president, you know, we have to win in those states, and I understand what that takes.”

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/14/politics/fetterman-democrats-trump