Fetterman tells Bill Maher Dems ‘lost that argument’ when it comes to Israel

The Democratic Party’s black sheep expressed to comedian Bill Maher how his side of the aisle had “lost that argument” when it came to conflict in the Middle East.

Just over 20 months after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel, the Jewish state’s ongoing counteroffensive to secure its safety in the region extended this week to include strikes meant to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. With that backdrop, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman (D) joined HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” where he asserted his own party had “taken side with the regime,” holding values antithetical to the United States.

Introduced by the host as the “bada** Democratic senator,” Maher’s one-on-one began with a focus on the Middle East and included raising comments by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who had taken the position that war crimes had been committed as part of the counteroffensive against Hamas.

Pushing back on the premise, Fetterman argued that language had been “cheapened” as he specifically knocked down talk of “genocide” and told the host, “We all have to be honest. You can never have to rebuild Gaza — which we have to rebuild Gaza — if Hamas is allowed to be enforced. You just have to be honest. And I think that’s really the truth and our party, the Democratic Party, has lost that argument, and they’ve taken side with the regime that doesn’t have the kind of values and live the kind of ways that we want here in our country.”

John Fetterman claims the Democrat party has completely lost the argument on Israel, Gaza, and Iran:
Bill Maher: “I know you’ve been getting a lot of shit out there. I want to get your take on Iran, Israel, they finally did it. What do you think?”
John Fetterman: “Our party the… pic.twitter.com/l4nSqMq23S

— Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) June 14, 2025

The senator was also given an opportunity to respond to hit pieces published against him, at which point he agreed with Maher that people get castigated for refusing “to go all the way with the purity lovers on the left.”

“Oh yeah, absolutely. Parts of my party just wants to turn me into a Colonel Kurtz,” said the lawmaker, referencing Marlon Brando’s character in the film “Apocalypse Now.”

Fetterman had previously stated during a debate with Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick (R), moderated by Fox News host Shannon Bream, that the attacks were “part of like this weird — this weird smear, this thing. And now, the, you know, the things more — I started to kind of — you know, following Israel or the border, and now really refusing to vote to shut the government down, I’ve continued to get more and more kinds of incoming and those things, and all of those things.”

Earlier in the interview, Maher had noted, “I know you’ve been getting a lot of sh*t out there and we’re gonna get to that … I want to get your take, first of all, on Iran-Israel. They finally did it; what do you think?”

After acknowledging he and Maher agree on a lot of points on Israel, the congressman said, “I think I was maybe the only one that said we have to fully support ’em taking out Iran at this point. We can’t ever allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon.”

“They have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to take the nuclear facilities out,” he went on.

Staff Writer

Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn’t researching current events and their impacts, you’ll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.

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