President Donald Trump called Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., a “great guy” on Saturday and said he would welcome the Pennsylvania Democrat into the Republican Party.
A reporter asked Trump, after he stepped off Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, whether he had discussed a potential party switch with Fetterman and if he would support the senator becoming a Republican. Fetterman has repeatedly diverged from Democrats on several issues during the current session of Congress.
“I’d love to see it. I think he’s great,” Trump said.
“It’s going to be hard for him to get the nomination as a Democrat, but I’d love to have him as a Republican,” he added.
Trump praised Fetterman as a “great guy” and spoke favorably of the senator’s “magnificent parents,” saying he had previously talked with them.
“He’s a very solid person,” Trump said. “He’s smart and all that, but he’s got great common sense.”
The president also indicated that he believed a party switch could improve Fetterman’s political prospects.
“If you look at the polls, he does better as a Republican than he does as a Democrat,” Trump said.
Trump’s remarks come as Fetterman has broken with his party on high-profile issues, including the Iran war and immigration. Despite those differences, the senator still votes with Democrats the overwhelming majority of the time.
MORE STORY: Did the Woman Who Stole King Charles’s Lambs Feel Sheepish?
Since entering the Senate in 2023, Fetterman has voted with Senate Democrats nearly 90% of the time.
That percentage has dropped to just under 81% during the current session of Congress, according to Fox News Digital’s previous reporting.
Fetterman’s occasional departures from the Democratic position have prompted renewed speculation about whether he could eventually join the Republican Party.
He has reportedly used Republican fundraising platforms to seek donations and has maintained a close friendship with Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala.
Last month, Fetterman appeared in a video introducing Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., at the Republican Midterm Convention.
He also mistakenly described himself as a lifelong Republican during an appearance at the Texas Tribune’s TribFest last month.
An attendee asked Fetterman why he had not run for office as an independent.
“Because I’m a lifelong Republican,” Fetterman replied before recognizing his mistake. “I guarantee you that will break through. That will get clipped.”
Fox News Digital contacted Fetterman’s office for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Alex Miller and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.