Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), a vocal advocate of President Biden, said he strongly disagrees with Sen. Peter Welch after the Vermont Democrat called for the president to step aside.
“Senator Welch, I mean, he’s a good friend and he’s the nicest dude in D.C. I’ve said that on the record,” Fetterman told CNN’s Erin Burnett shortly after Welch’s opinion was published in The Washington Post. “So, I actually disagree with my friend.”
Fetterman continued, saying he doesn’t hold the same opinion as Welch. Even if he did, the Pennsylvania Democrat said, he wouldn’t have “gone public” in the Post.
“But he’s entitled to his opinion, but I’m entitled to mine and I just don’t agree with my friend,” Fetterman said. “I strongly disagree.”
Welch became the first Senate Democrat to publicly call on Biden to withdraw from the presidential race.
In his op-ed, he said that he has “great respect” for Biden but thinks it would be for the good of the country if he stepped aside.
Welch warned of another term under former President Trump and said his constituents are worried.
Since Biden’s rocky debate performance, nine House Democrats have also called on Biden to pass the torch. Fetterman has firmly stood by the president, criticizing his colleagues in Congress.
He said the idea of abandoning Biden is the “dumbest s—” he’s ever heard and thinks that as more Democrats jump ship, it will only help Trump be reelected.
Fetterman told Burnett that he supports the president because “he’s the only person to ever beat Trump’s a– in an election.”
“He’s been an amazing president and he deserves our support through all that,” Fetterman said.
Many lawmakers are worried that Biden won’t be able to beat Trump and it will impact races in both the House and the Senate. Fetterman hopes to stifle some of the Democratic panic over the last two weeks.
“I believe that Joe Biden is going to win, but it’s going to be very close,” he said. “There’s never going to be a landslide at all, regardless [of the] debate or not, because it’s going to be very close. I’ve been saying that same thing since 2016, 2020 and of course, during this cycle.”