In a political week full of surprises — including President Donald Trump’s unexpected show of cordiality toward a democratic socialist in the Oval Office — another eyebrow-raising moment came when Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany openly praised Democratic Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) and even relayed that her conservative father wanted him at their family dinner table.
McEnany interviewed Fetterman on her show Saturday in America, where she revealed that despite her father being, in her words, a “bone-ribbed conservative,” he admires Fetterman’s refusal to use the kind of hateful, divisive rhetoric many Democrats have embraced in recent years.
“My dad said to me, ‘What I love about John Fetterman is he refuses to hate,’” McEnany said. “He doesn’t use the hateful rhetoric.”
Fetterman, whose new book Unfettered includes reflections on his difficult childhood, listened as McEnany read a passage describing a shy, awkward boy retreating to the school library to escape social hierarchies and cruelty. McEnany said the excerpt made her sad but also helped explain Fetterman’s unusual tone in America’s hypercharged political climate.
“It simultaneously explains why you’re a man who refuses to hate,” she said.
Fetterman responded by noting that his own father was a conservative and likely watching the interview. He emphasized his refusal to label people with extreme terms like “Nazi” or “fascist,” a habit increasingly common on the left.
“And I refuse to do that,” Fetterman said. “Right now especially, after what happened with the president last year or what happened with Charlie Kirk… we really have to turn the temperature down. For me, I just refuse to be part of that fake outrage or to call those kinds of names.”
In an era when Democrats frequently default to demonizing conservatives — often smearing political opponents rather than debating ideas — Fetterman’s tone has distanced him from the far-left activists in his own party. While his policies remain firmly Democratic, his willingness to call out his own side’s excesses has made him one of the very few on the left willing to acknowledge that America’s political discourse has spiraled into something toxic.
McEnany closed the interview by sharing one more anecdote that left viewers stunned:
“My dad said last night at our dinner we had for the Christmas tree lighting, ‘John Fetterman — he’s someone I wish was at the dinner table. I like that guy.’ So thank you, Sen. Fetterman.”
The exchange highlighted something increasingly rare: civil political conversation between a conservative host and a Democratic lawmaker who rejects the nastiness and name-calling dominating his party.
While conservatives may disagree with Fetterman on most policy issues, the interview demonstrated that respectful dialogue — even across ideological lines — isn’t completely dead in Washington.
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