John Fetterman accidentally calls himself a 'lifelong Republican' at Texas Tribune Festival

Sen. John Fetterman, D-PA, triggered a wave of laughs at a speaking event on Saturday after mistakenly referring to himself as a "lifelong Republican."

Fetterman made the statement while on stage at the Texas Tribune Festival, going on to quickly correct himself and assert that he has no reason to abandon the Democratic Party.

The moment came when an attendee at the event asked why Fetterman doesn't run as an independent.

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Sen. John Fetterman, D-PA, triggered a wave of laughs at a speaking event on Saturday after mistakenly referring to himself as a "lifelong Republican." (Joseph A. Wulfsohn/Fox News Digital.)

"Because I’m a lifelong Republican," he said, realizing his mistake. "I guarantee you that will break through. That will get clipped."

Fetterman gave a keynote address earlier in the event where he elaborated on his criticisms of both the Republican and Democratic parties.

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"I don’t have a reason to," Fetterman said of joining Republicans. "But for a big-tent situation, it’s easier to be included in that big tent to say America deserved 9/11 or America is worse than Al-Qaida than being very proud to stand on the side of Israel."

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., leaves the Senate floor at the U.S. Capitol on July 15, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Fetterman admitted he believed he has "no path as a Republican," but acknowledged that many Democrats are frustrated by his willingness to work with the opposing party.

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"If the Democratic Party votes me out or expels me, they’re always entitled to do that," he said.

Fetterman has been welcomed with open arms by Republicans to join the party after he floated leaving his own caucus and spurred further speculation that he would jump ship after dropping a video introducing his colleague, Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., at the Republican National Committee’s midterm convention earlier this month.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gifts Democratic Sen. John Fetterman a silver-plated pager, commemorating the operation that used pagers against Hamas leaders and operatives. Fetterman visited Israel to show his support in its fight against the terrorist group that attacked on Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 and taking many hostages. (GPO)

But the progressive-turned-centrist has repeatedly affirmed his Democratic ties, even as the knives have come out to cut him loose from the Senate.

Fetterman started his career in the Senate after besting Dr. Mehmet Oz in a tight race for power in 2022, where he clinched a historically thin Democratic majority in 2022 running on a progressive platform.

But since then, he has become a thorn in Democrats’ side and challenged the direction of the party.

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Earlier this year, Fetterman warned that if Democrats became more entrenched in anti-Israel policy positions, he would exit the party, and has taken jabs at the party’s direction during this midterm election cycle as far-left progressives, like Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, have emerged as standard-bearers.

Fox News Digital's Alex Miller contributed to this report.