Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman defended his meeting with President Donald Trump during an appearance on “The View” on Monday, saying that working with the president was part of his job.
Fetterman was asked by “The View” hosts about his highly publicized visit to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump ahead of the inauguration, which drew some backlash from members of his party.
The Democratic senator, who has expressed a willingness to reach across the aisle, praised Trump as “kind” and “cordial.”
“I think overall it was a positive experience. I mean, he was — he was kind. He was cordial. It wasn’t in a — in any kind of theater, it wasn’t trying to get your picture taken to put something out on social media. It was really just a conversation,” Fetterman recalled.
‘SENATOR FOR ALL’: FETTERMAN SET TO MEET WITH TRUMP AT MAR-A-LAGO
Fetterman said that he and his wife, Gisele, spoke to Trump for over an hour, looking to find common ground about protecting “Dreamers” and food stamp benefits, among other topics.
“Overall, it was just a straight-up conversation,” Fetterman said.
Trump also praised the meeting afterward, telling The Washington Examiner he was impressed with Fetterman, whom he called a “commonsense person.”
Fetterman told “The View” that he wasn’t interested in “freaking out” over Trump but was “in the business of finding wins” for his state and the nation.
“I’m not that guy. I’m not going to be that Democrat. For me, you know, there’s things I’m going to agree with, I’m going to disagree with, but I’m in the business of finding wins for Pennsylvania and for the nation, and engaging the president — I see that as doing my job,” he said.
Co-host Ana Navarro brought up the criticism Fetterman received from the left, claiming the lawmaker was helping to bolster the false notion that Trump was open to working with Democrats.
“I understand the need for bipartisanship. I didn’t love the optics of you going to Mar-a-Lago,” she admitted – referring to it as Trump’s “palace” – before asking the lawmaker if he thought the meeting was a success.
“I think it’s pretty reasonable to have a conversation,” Fetterman addressed his critics.
He explained how he had been invited by Trump to meet, and he took the opportunity because he felt that working with the president was part of the job of any elected official.
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Speaking to “The View”‘s audience, Fetterman said, “I hope, maybe you [who] are watching, you’re tired of just the venom and the hate, and it’s like, I’d want more bipartisan kinds of things.”
Fetterman said he was choosing his battles and he didn’t find that adding to the “cheap hate online” was beneficial.
“[A]nd if those kinds of things were helpful, you know, we would be in a different situation. We would be the ones making those kinds of decisions with the new administration with then-Vice President Harris,” he continued.
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Fetterman also gave his initial impression of Trump’s first week in office.
“Honestly, I haven’t been surprised by anything now. I mean, he’s been doing essentially what he actually campaigned on,” he told “The View.”
“He announced he is going to pardon the January 6 individuals. He is absolutely going to go after the border. So there’s a lot of things that he’s already ran on. I criticize a lot of it, and I don’t agree with everything either, but it’s undeniable he actually ran on that and been really upfront. He’s like, ‘I am your retribution,’ and, you know, he’s kind of making those moves,” Fetterman said.
