Democratic Senator John Fetterman has claimed that it may not “possible” for the party to win back white men.

In a new interview with Puck’s Tara Palmieri, Fetterman offered a stark assessment of the Democrats’ ability to regain support among white male voters. Asked about how the party could win white men “like himself” back, Fetterman responded: “I’m not sure if that’s possible, to be honest.” He then warned that support among that demographic had been “seriously eroding for a while”. What’s more, “In some cases, people don’t even want to say it publicly […] but they just feel like the other side seems to be saying, ‘Men are the problem.’”

The Pennsylvania Senator, who won a close race in a swing state that backed Donald Trump in both 2016 and 2020, noted that many working-class white men feel talked down to by the Democratic Party. He argued that the party’s messaging has relied too heavily on “shaming and scolding”, which has driven voters towards the Republican Party, particularly in battleground states.

“Their primary currency was shaming and scolding and talking down to people,” Fetterman said. “Telling them, ‘Hey, I know better than you,’ or ‘you’re ignorant,’ or ‘you’re a bro.’ And then by the way, ‘They’re fascists. How can you vote for that?’”

Fetterman’s remarks highlight a growing concern among Democrats about their ability to remain competitive in blue-collar regions that have shifted Rightward over the past decade. He pointed out that many voters prioritise cultural and identity-based issues over specific policy proposals and that Trump has successfully tapped into those sentiments.

“The 2024 election was not about obscure policies. It was a gut-check kind of vote,” Fetterman explained. “People are asking themselves, ‘Who is going to protect or project my personal view of the American way of life?’”

Fetterman also addressed the broader Democratic response to Trump’s administration, cautioning against overreacting to every move the President makes. “We’re a little over two weeks in and now they’re in full-on freakout mode,” he said. “You have to choose which things you’re going to fight against and which things you’re going to ignore.”

He warned against excessive reliance on protests and social media outrage, urging Democrats to focus on long-term political strategy instead. “If we become a boutique kind of proposition, we’re going to lose the argument,” he said.

Despite his concerns about Trump’s policies and executive actions, Fetterman emphasised that this is what the country voted for. “What has limited our power is democracy,” he said, pointing to Republican control of both chambers of Congress and the White House.

Fetterman’s candid remarks reflect the challenges facing Democrats as they seek to rebuild their electoral coalition in a political landscape where working-class white men have increasingly aligned with the Republican Party. “If we don’t speak to these voters in a way that respects where they are coming from, we’ll keep losing them,” Fetterman said. “People want to feel like they’re being heard — not just lectured.”