President Trump said he would love Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman as a Republican, pointing to polls that show the Democrat doing better with GOP voters than his own party.

Speaking to reporters on Oct. 10 at Joint Base Andrews while heading back to Washington from a Tennessee rally, Trump made the pitch plain. He told the press that Fetterman “does better as a Republican” and that he would “love to see” the Pennsylvania senator switch sides.

USA TODAY Network reporting captured Trump’s assessment of Fetterman’s path inside the Democratic Party and his open invitation to cross the aisle.

"It's gonna be hard for him to get the nomination as a Democrat, but I’d love to have him as a Republican."

Trump tied the invitation to hard numbers. “If you look at the polls, he does better as a Republican than he does as a Democrat,” he said.

Polls show Republicans like Fetterman far more than Democrats do

A Quinnipiac University poll released Oct. 7 put the gap in stark terms. Only 13% of Democrats held a favorable view of Fetterman, while 69% viewed him unfavorably. Among Republicans, 72% saw him favorably and just 19% unfavorably.

Across likely voters overall, 37% viewed him favorably, 46% unfavorably, and 15% said they had not heard enough. Independents split more evenly, with 49% viewing him unfavorably.

An August survey from The New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and Siena University showed a similar pattern. Seventy-nine percent of self-identified Republicans held a positive view of Fetterman, compared with 62% who viewed fellow Pennsylvania Sen. David McCormick favorably.

The Washington Examiner noted the same Quinnipiac split and reported Trump calling Fetterman “great” while saying he would love to see him join the Republican Party.

Fetterman keeps saying he will stay a Democrat

Fetterman has rejected the idea of a party switch more than once. In a Sept. 15 video published by CSPAN on X, he pushed back hard at a reporter pressing the question.

"I'm not going to be a Republican. You know, why can't you guys just wait 'til the midterm? And if I turn a Republican, then I'll be a liar, then."

He was elected as a Democrat in 2022. His next chance at reelection does not arrive until 2028, and as of mid-October he had not announced official plans to run again. Earlier this year, Pennsylvania Democrats declined to offer support for a possible reelection bid.

That cold shoulder from his own side helps explain why Fetterman has turned toward Republican ally McCormick while Democrats apply pressure.

On CNN’s The Situation Room, asked whether he would win a primary, Fetterman answered, “Yeah,” then added that 2026 still felt “really kind of a theoretic.”

Common-sense breaks keep fueling the switch talk

Fetterman has sided with Trump more often than most Democrats on several high-profile matters, including Israel, the conflict with Iran, and confirmation of cabinet nominees. He has also vowed to work with the president on core industrial issues.

Last month he appeared by recorded video at a Republican midterm convention and struck a cooperative note on manufacturing.

"We'll work with President Trump to fight and defend the steel way of life right here in the Steel Valley."

In the same video he framed himself as a “common-sense Democrat” and said, “I'm always gonna reject the extremes in socialism and that anti-American way of life.”

Fox News reported Trump praising Fetterman as a “great guy” with “great common sense,” while noting the senator’s party-line voting has dropped below 81% this session and that he has broken with Democrats on Iran and immigration. The same account said Fetterman has appeared at GOP events, used Republican fundraising platforms, and once mistakenly called himself a lifelong Republican.

Those moves track with earlier outreach, including when Fetterman recruited a Republican-linked fundraiser to chase conservative campaign cash.

He has also drawn a clear line on foreign policy. Speaking to NBC News about a possible Democratic platform that would cut off aid to Israel, Fetterman called it a deal-breaker.

"If they put that in our platform, no aid for Israel, and officially become the anti-Israel party, then yeah, that’s a red line for me."

He added that Democrats “always should support Israel,” calling the country “our special ally” and “the only democracy in the entire region.”

That stance fits a broader pattern of cooperation with the White House, including cases where Fetterman backed Trump on AI data centers and labeled Democratic resistance a gift to China.

Pennsylvania Republicans are already gaming out a switch

State Sen. Greg Rothman, the commonwealth’s GOP chair, told PennLive he has watched the possibility since at least April.

"We’re still trying to wrestle with what happens if John Fetterman switched party and becomes a Republican."

The open speculation comes as Fetterman’s campaign apparatus has already tested conservative donor channels, including when his team tapped Republican email lists and GOP donor networks for fundraising.

Fetterman still votes with Democrats on many issues and has joined party colleagues in other fights, yet the distance from progressive orthodoxy keeps growing. Voters notice. So do the numbers.

Trump’s invitation lands against that backdrop. A senator elected as a Democrat now polls far better with Republicans than with his own party, works with the president on steel and security, and keeps telling reporters he will not switch, while his party’s base turns cold.

Parties that punish common sense and abandon core allies should not act shocked when presidents from the other side start recruiting their strays.