Dem-turned Independent Joe Manchin urges Fetterman to ‘set himself free’ and follow suit

Former Democrat-turned-Independent Senator Joe Manchin is urging Sen. Fetterman to follow in his footsteps as his former party lurches left.

Manchin bucked the Democratic Party in 2024 and opted not to run for a third term, and believes if Fetterman became an Independent it would allow him to “speak as a real, true, free, free broker.”

“My observation, and recommendation from observation, would be, John, trust me, set yourself free and become an Independent,” Manchin told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday. “It’s liberating.”

Fetterman has repeatedly bucked his own party by not gratuitously trashing President Donald Trump and unapologetically supporting Israel.

Manchin believes the Pennsylvania Dem is “voting what he believes is right for his people and what he can explain, and I appreciate that and respect it.”

“When you like both people and both sides, you can sit down with both sides, you can agree to disagree, you can try to find compromise and make things happen,” he said.

“So you’re not making a commitment that you owe your soul to the company store, or basically to the parties, whether it be a D or an R; they’re going to have to earn your support, but the people will be much better off, and they’ll appreciate, I think, John’s independent stance,” Manchin said.

The once self-described “progressive” Fetterman rejected the label in 2023, saying he’s just a “Democrat” and has publicly criticized his own party for “catering to the fringe and agitated parts of our base,” in a Washington Post op-ed.

Fetterman’s unconventional behavior (for a Dem) has sparked speculation that he may one day ditch his party despite his own insistence that he’d make a “terrible Republican.”

The speculation is so widespread that a US Homeland Security News commentary account fell for a satirical post claiming Fetterman was taking Manchin’s advice.

🚨Update: Senator John Fetterman will register as an Independent to run for re-election in 2028.

“I can’t see continuing to associate with my current party,” said Fetterman, “I’m never gonna be a communist who believes men should use the girls’ bathroom.”

Fetterman says he’s… pic.twitter.com/loeBXvmtQk

— US Homeland Security News (@defense_civil25) July 1, 2026

For now, Fetterman remains a Dem, and refreshingly patriotic:

Fetterman on blue states refusing to participate in the Great American State Fair for America’s 250th birthday,

Fetterman: “But when it’s 250 years to celebrate America, why wouldn’t you make sure that your state’s gonna be there?”pic.twitter.com/x1WoAsx6Gr

— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) July 1, 2026

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