President Donald Trump’s historic strikes on Iranian leadership received immediate support from virtually every Republican in Congress. Most Democrats either couched their praise or fumed in opposition to the successful strikes.
Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.) was not in that group of Democrats. Following Trump’s launch of Operation Epic Fury, Fetterman cast his partisanship aside and backed Trump up. In doing so, Fetterman sides with more Democratic Party voters than his colleagues in his party would suggest.
“President Trump has been willing to do what’s right and necessary to produce real peace in the region,” Fetterman said after the strikes. “God bless the United States, our great military, and Israel.” Since Palestinian terrorists invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023, Fetterman has been one of the staunchest defenders of Israel in either party in Congress, so while his support for Trump’s bold moves isn’t surprising, it continues to leave him on an island within his own caucus on Capitol Hill.
But, polling suggests that Fetterman’s move is more popular among Democrats than it might appear at first.
Days before the U.S. and Israeli militaries bombed sites throughout Iran in close coordination, GrayHouse conducted a poll — obtained exclusively by the Washington Reporter — which found that 40 percent of Democrats would support the Trump administration using military force to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. A plurality of 47 percent would oppose it.
Yet Fetterman is nearly alone among Senate Democrats in leaving politics at the water’s edge and acknowledging the president’s success.
