Arabic version: فيترمان يظهر عبر الفيديو في المؤتمر الجمهوري

According to Al Jazeera, Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, a Democrat, appeared in a video recording on the opening day of the Republican Party’s two-day midterm convention in Dallas, Texas.

Fetterman introduced fellow Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick, a Republican, in the video shown on Wednesday. “Yes, I’m Senator John Fetterman, Pennsylvania. Yes, I’m a Democrat. Why am I here talking to you today? Because, well, I’m a common-sense Democrat,” he said.

The first-term senator has presented himself as an outsider in the Democratic Party and has voiced support for Israel and the war on Iran. In the clip, he said he would “always stand with America” and reject “the extremes and socialism and that anti-American way of life”.

US Representative Brendan Boyle, a Pennsylvania Democrat, criticised Fetterman after the video aired. “A year ago I labeled John Fetterman ‘Trump’s favorite Democrat.’ Tonight, he yet again proves why,” Boyle wrote on social media.

Fetterman has denied he will become a Republican, saying in a recent Fox News interview that he would remain a Democrat willing to talk with those “playing it straight”. He is not up for re-election until 2028. The November 3 election will determine control of Congress for the final two years of President Donald Trump’s term.