Fetterman gives Dems a stinging reality check as Mao-praising communists seize the spotlight

Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman railed against the growing influence of socialists and communists in the Democratic Party on Tuesday, warning that figures such as socialist streamer Hasan Piker are pulling the party toward a more radical future.

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

Piker has emerged as an influential voice on the Democratic left, backing socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and campaigning alongside Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed as left-wing candidates court his millions of online followers. Piker has openly praised Mao Zedong and carried water for Cuba’s communist regime, blaming America for the island’s suffering. 

Speaking with Fox News Digital after addressing the Israel on Campus Coalition's National Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Fetterman said the direction of his party has become "troubling" and pointed to Tuesday’s primaries as the latest test of whether Democrats will continue embracing candidates aligned with the party’s progressive flank.

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Democratic establishment candidates notched several victories in Tuesday night’s primaries, including Rep. Wesley Bell’s defeat of DSA-backed former Rep. Cori Bush’s comeback bid in Missouri. The high-stakes Democratic Senate primary in Michigan, however, remained too close to call early Wednesday, with Abdul El-Sayed, who has drawn support from prominent socialists, facing the more moderate Rep. Haley Stevens.

"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," said Fetterman.

The Pennsylvania Democrat continued that it should be "pretty obvious" that the party should 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 issued his own warning earlier this summer, arguing that the Democratic Party had moved far beyond socialism.

"These are not social Democrats," Trump said in June following socialists notching primary wins in New York. "These are hardcore, godless communists. They're godless communists. All communists are godless. They don't believe in God. This is the most serious threat to our country since its existence. In my opinion, 250 years ago. This is a major threat to our country."

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When asked by a reporter late Tuesday night what it would mean if more socialists prevailed in primary races, Trump said the Democratic Party is a "mess."

"I think they should form another party, the communist of America party. I think they should have a new party, the communists of America, and it will do well, it'll get about 10% of the vote," Trump said.

Fetterman spoke at the Israel on Campus Coalition’s flagship event, which brought more than 800 pro-Israel students to Washington for advocacy training, networking and discussions on supporting Israel, combating antisemitism and strengthening the U.S.-Israel relationship on college campuses.

Fetterman said the shift in the Democratic Party is evident in how even pro-Israel Democrats 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, pro-Israel, that's become a slur, and people have to defend that."

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Fetterman also pointed to Iran as another defining fault line within the Democratic Party, defending the Trump administration’s strikes on the country’s nuclear facilities and highlighting 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. "If you don't want them to acquire a nuclear bomb, it's pretty reasonable to bomb their nuclear facilities, they want to build one. And overall, the Iranian war, I've remained the only Democrat to vote against the War Power[s] Act."

"I would say that for almost half a century, every American president had been trying to address the problem with Iran. The problem is Iran. That's the problem," he added.