No, Democratic Sen. John Fetterman didn’t say he’s voting for Trump; he supports Kamala Harris

A day after President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential election, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., announced his support for Vice President Kamala Harris, the new Democratic presidential nominee. 

"Proud to support and be all in for the next president, @KamalaHarris," Fetterman said in a July 22 X post. 

But a recent interview Fetterman gave is being taken out of context to bolster the idea that he’s backing another candidate: former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee. 

"Did Fetterman just say he’s voting for Trump," a Sept. 23 Threads post said. "Dude was voted in as a lobotomized Dem and came out a based Republican."

This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

The post includes a clip from Fetterman’s Sept. 19 appearance at The Atlantic Festival in Washington, D.C. 

During an interview with the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, Fetterman imagined the perspective of a Pennsylvania Trump supporter. 

Goldberg asked Fetterman how the presidential contest could be "so close" in Pennsylvania. 

"What people you live with, people who will vote for you, your friends, people you grow up with, what do they see in Donald Trump that makes them want to vote for him?"

Featured Fact-check

Instagram posts

stated on October 23, 2024 in a photo

Kamala Harris "proclaimed she would not accept the outcome of the election and has a team of lawyers ready to overturn them"

Fetterman said, "I know some people that are like, I personally think he’s a terrible person or are appalled by some of these things, but I fundamentally think that I’ll still vote for him and I think a lot of Republicans already agree with that."

Fetterman didn’t say he was voting for Trump; he was talking about other Pennsylvanians who will vote for the former president. 

During the same interview, Fetterman also said Harris "will prevail — I do believe that." 

He’s publicly supported Harris and derided Trump and his running mate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio. 

A Sept. 5 X post pinned on Fetterman’s account shows a photo of him giving a thumbs-up next to Harris. 

"Wheels down in Pixburgh with our NEXT PRESIDENT," he wrote. 

More recently, Fettermandescribed Vance in a Sept. 24 post as "untethered to any dignity, veracity, or integrity."

Fetterman posted another photo Sept. 21 giving a thumbs-up in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. 

"This is where the battle for Pennsylvania is at: I’m here tonight for our next President @KamalaHarris, and Trump will be here on Monday," he said. "Pennsylvania picks the president and winning means fighting for every vote in every county." 

We rate claims Fetterman said he’s voting for Trump False.