Fetterman: Trump Was ‘Kind’ and ‘Cordial’ During Mar-a-Lago Meeting

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) heads to the Senate Chamber for a vote at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on May 10, 2023. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) on Jan. 27 recalled his meeting with President Donald Trump, describing his demeanor as “kind” and “cordial.”

During an appearance on ABC’s “The View,” Fetterman said meeting with the president last weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, was a “positive experience.”

“He was kind. He was cordial. It wasn’t any kind of theater,” he said. “It wasn’t trying to get your picture taken to kind of put something on social media. It was just really a conversation.”

Fetterman said the discussion lasted more than an hour.

One point of agreement, he said, was about DREAMers, who are in the United States illegally because their parents brought them into the country when they were children.

They also agreed on protecting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, he said.

At the end of the day, said Fetterman, the talk with Trump was “a straight-up conversation.” His wife, Giselle Fetterman, was also there.

Ahead of the meeting, Fetterman, who supported former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, told The Epoch Times in a statement, “I’ve been clear that no one is my gatekeeper. I will meet with and have a conversation with anyone if it helps me deliver for Pennsylvania and the nation.”

After the meeting, Trump called the discussion “totally fascinating.”

“He’s a fascinating man, and his wife is lovely. They were both up, and I couldn’t be more impressed,” Trump told The Washington Examiner in an exclusive interview.

“He’s a commonsense person. He’s not liberal or conservative,” the president said. “He’s just a commonsense person, which is beautiful.”

Other topics discussed at the meeting included the Israel-Gaza conflict, border security, the nixed Nippon-U.S. Steel deal, and acquiring Greenland.

Fetterman has shown an independent voting streak, breaking from his party to vote in favor of the Laken Riley Act, which would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain illegal immigrants who break certain laws. He voted against the nomination of Pete Hegseth to be secretary of defense.

The Laken Riley Act has been sent to Trump’s desk for his signature, while Hegseth was confirmed over the weekend after Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote on the Senate floor.