CNN analyst Van Jones on Monday defended Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) against criticism from inside the Democratic Party amid reports that some Republicans are quietly trying to persuade the senator to switch parties or become an independent ahead of the midterm elections.

“Look, I think he is a moderate Democrat, and that should not be illegal in this party,” Jones said on CNN’s “The Source with Kaitlin Collins,” arguing the party also included moderate, progressive, and Democrats who “didn’t fit the mold.”

“It just shows you how nutty things have gotten that somebody who wants to stick up for Israel and doesn’t want an open border is somehow now, has to be a Republican,” he continued, adding the notion was “completely insane.”

Jones’s comments came after Politico reported on Monday that Senate Republicans and even President Trump himself have been lobbying Fetterman to defect from his party, offering a “financial windfall” in Pennsylvania if he does. However, the senator has shot down the idea.

“I’m not changing,” he told the outlet in an interview on Friday. “I’m a Democrat, and I’m staying one.”

The Pennsylvania senator has acknowledged he faces a popularity challenge among Democrats over sometimes bucking the party on key votes, including supporting the nomination of former Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) to succeed Kristi Noem as Department of Homeland Security secretary.

He has emerged as a vocal supporter of the joint U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, repeatedly siding with Republicans to help defeat measures designed to limit Trump’s war powers. He also ripped his Democratic colleagues for opposing the construction of a new ballroom at the White House after a gunman allegedly attempted to assassinate the president during the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner last month.

The recent actions prompted a blistering critique from the Monroe County Democratic Party in Fetterman’s home state, who labeled him a “traitor” to the party and those who supported his campaign.

“TRAITOR to Democrats. TRAITOR to Pennsylvanians. TRAITOR to those who worked tirelessly to elect him and stood with him,” the county chapter of the Democratic Party wrote in a Sunday post on social platform X. “51st vote,’ my a‑‑. This FOX pundit is MAGA. Primary him and vote him out in 2028.”

Jones brushed off the criticism as an attempt to “throw shade” at someone who votes with Democrats most of the time despite occasional differences.

“I think that John Fetterman would not fit in the Republican Party any better than I would,” the political analyst argued, casting the senator as a “great American” and “media maverick.”

“We need people like that in this party, and we need more people who speak their minds,” he added. “I don’t get it. He’s not going to be a Republican, and he should be able to be a Democrat and not get, you know, a bunch of nonsense thrown at him.”

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