It’s been fun over the last few months to watch a diverse mix of people come to Mar-a-Lago to pay homage to President-elect Donald Trump, and it certainly had to be gratifying for Mr. Trump himself after years of treatment its vile by the media, Big Tech, a corrupt justice system and various self-appointed mouthpieces of the left.
The last to make his way to Palm Beach was Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who made his way to meet with Trump last weekend. Nothing angers the left and its media lapdogs more than the thought of a Democrat working with a Republican, especially when that Republican is Donald Trump. It’s just not done.
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To his credit, Fetterman had fun with the media literally following him into his Senate office and demanding answers as to why he was meeting with Trump. Here’s RedState’s Nick Arama on the senator Answer:
They tracked him to his Senate office and harassed him about news of a visit to Mar-a-Lago. Fetterman was a little annoyed by her pressure: “What are we talking about here?” and so he responded with a joke.
“I demand that I be made Pope of Greenland,” he quipped.
The backlash over his intention to meet Trump at Mar-a-Lago prompted Fetterman to post this tweet:
I’m not just a Democratic senator – I’m a senator of all Pennsylvanians.
It’s my job to find common ground and deliver results for everyone.
And because no one is my gatekeeper, I will meet with anyone to score some victories, including President Trump. pic.twitter.com/H6MhmYBJXd
– US Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) January 9, 2025
As it turned out, Trump had not offered to name Fetterman “Pope of Greenland,” but the recent president had nice words for the senator following his meeting:
“It was an absolutely fascinating meeting. He is a fascinating man and his wife is charming. They were both in good spirits and I couldn’t be more impressed,” Trump said of Fetterman and his wife Gisele after the hour-long meeting at Mar-a-Lago.
According to Trump, the two discussed a wide range of topics, including the future of US Steel, their mutual support for Israel, the need for border security and the geopolitical implications of the United States’ takeover of Greenland.
The US Steel issue appeared to provide a moment of bipartisanship as both appeared to express opposition to the proposed $14 billion takeover by Nippon Steel, a deal recently blocked by President Joe Biden on national security grounds became. Fetterman and Trump joined steelworker union leaders who have expressed fears that a merger could lead to costly reductions in U.S. Steel’s production capacity.
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Fetterman is the first Democratic senator to engage directly with Trump since his victory on November 5, a good sign that bipartisanship will be in tiny supply when Trump takes office next week. Fetterman’s willingness to reach across the aisle will be crucial in advancing elements of Trump’s broader agenda and, in particular, in getting Trump’s nominees approved by the Senate.
Just last week, Fetterman demonstrated his growing influence within the Democratic Party when he co-sponsored the Laken Riley Act, which would allow federal officials to arrest and potentially deport illegals arrested for nonviolent crimes such as shoplifting and larceny. Republicans would like nothing more than to have this bill on President-elect Trump’s desk on his first day in office, and of course Democrats would like nothing more than to make sure it doesn’t end up there, possibly ever.
Undaunted, Fetterman led a diminutive group of Senate Democrats in supporting the bill, which has already passed in the House and is now being debated in the Senate.
Make no mistake, John Fetterman is no conservative, but his openness to working with Trump and Senate Republicans could be the key to passing the Trump 2.0 agenda.
