Not Yet ‘Pope of Greenland,’ But Fetterman Got Trump’s Love

John Fetterman broke ranks with his Democrat colleagues–I hope to write that a lot in the coming years–and made the pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago to meet with the incoming, supposedly Hitleresque, Donald Trump.

Reporters somehow found a sitting U.S. Senator going to meet with the incoming President of the United States, shocking enough to chase Fetterman through the floors of the Senate Office Building, demanding he answer for this choice. 

His answer was perfect:

REPORTER: What are you hoping to get out of your visit to Mar-a-Lago with Donald Trump?

SENATOR JOHN FETTERMAN: “I demand that I need to be made Pope of Greenland.”

H/t @KellieMeyerNews pic.twitter.com/F5L7BWXxtj

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 10, 2025

Hid did later issue a less cheeky response:

Fetterman had made the cheeky “Pope of Greenland” quip to Capitol Hill reporters on Thursday when they questioned why he accepted Trump’s invitation to meet the president-elect at his home in Mar-a-Lago.

He said later in a statement about the pending meeting, “President Trump invited me to meet, and I accepted. I’m the senator for all Pennsylvanians — not just Democrats in Pennsylvania,” adding, “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.”

Well, the meeting happened over the weekend, and it’s fair to say it went well–very well, from Trump’s perspective. 

Salena Zito sat down with Trump after the meeting and got the scoop. 

Trump said the fate of U.S. Steel, shoring up the border, supporting Israel and discussing the geopolitical benefits of Greenland were just four of several things they found common ground on.
Our interview: https://t.co/G2aIjPDjhB

— ZitoSalena (@ZitoSalena) January 13, 2025

Zito has become something of a Trump whisperer, getting scoops that others don’t. That’s because she gets his voters in a way that no other reporter does. Maggie Haberman gets a lot of access to Trump–I suppose Trump has some bizarre desire to get approval of some kind from his hometown paper–but Haberman gets Trump about as well as the average 7th-grader gets calculus. 

Trump gushed with praise for Fetterman. That may or may not mean that they have bonded–Trump has two speeds: gushing and attacking–but I suspect the admiration was pretty genuine. Fetterman really does seem to be direct about what he thinks and unconcerned about what his colleagues think of him. 

“It was a totally fascinating meeting. He’s a fascinating man, and his wife is lovely. They were both up, and I couldn’t be more impressed,” Trump said of Fetterman and his wife Gisele after the hourlong meeting at Mar-a-Lago.

“He’s a commonsense person. He’s not liberal or conservative. He’s just a commonsense person, which is beautiful,” Trump said in an exclusive interview with the Washington Examiner.

Pennsylvania will no doubt get some love from Trump–it was seen as the Keystone State for the presidential election, and Western Pennsylvania is Appalachian and very much a part of the culture that produced J.D. Vance. And the first test of Trump’s economic approach will be the fate of U.S. Steel. 

Without going into too much detail about their private conversation, Trump said that the topics addressed included the fate of U.S. Steel, support for Israel, shoring up the border, and the geopolitical benefits of acquiring Greenland. 

Regarding U.S. Steel, Trump said they discussed how to make the company successful again through tariffs. “They’re going to make people that have steel mills do very well, and the people that work at those steel mills are going to do very well,” Trump said.

With some Republicans less Trump-friendly than others, no doubt the incoming president will welcome support from at least one and perhaps more Democrats. Fetterman’s breaking ranks will make it easier for others to do so, at least on some issues. The #resistance will no longer be the powerful force it once was. 

Trump. He is magic.