President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he will meet with a group of Democrats for lunch next week.
Despite his criticism of the Democratic Party’s radical policies, Trump expressed hope for cooperation.
“I’m going to be having lunch with some of the Democrats next week, and it would be wonderful if we could work together,” he added. “I think working together would be great. But they have to change. You can’t get elected on the programs that they want.”
This meeting would be a rare instance of direct dialogue between Trump and Democrats, many of whom have spent years demonizing him and refusing to engage.
The full list of attendees has not yet been publicly disclosed.
One of the few Democratic senators willing to openly speak with Trump is Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who met with the president at Mar-a-Lago before Inauguration Day.
“Overall, it was a positive experience. I mean, he was kind, he was cordial. It wasn’t in any kind of theater. It wasn’t trying to get your picture taken to kind of put something out on social media. It was just, really, a conversation. We actually spoke for over an hour,” Fetterman said on The View.
Fetterman’s Shift Sparks Democrat Exodus
Fetterman’s willingness to engage with Trump, along with his vocal criticism of the Democratic Party’s extremism, has resulted in a significant shake-up within his office.
Two of his longest-serving staffers—communications director Charlie Hills and legislative director Tré Easton—are departing as the Pennsylvania senator continues to take a more moderate, independent approach.
Both staffers worked on Fetterman’s 2022 campaign and played key roles in advancing his policy agenda.
Their departures follow a wave of exits from Fetterman’s team, including his former communications director Carrie Adams, who left last month after publicly disagreeing with Fetterman on Israel and the war in Gaza.
Fetterman was the first—and so far, the only—Democratic senator to meet privately with Trump following his election victory.
He has also backed key Trump initiatives, including the Laken Riley Act, which grants the Department of Homeland Security the authority to detain noncitizens charged with certain crimes. The bill was signed into law by Trump last month.
Additionally, Fetterman has crossed party lines to support Trump’s Cabinet picks, including Lee Zeldin for Environmental Protection Agency administrator and Pam Bondi for attorney general—both of whom received little Democratic support.
Still, Fetterman remains selective in his support for the administration. He has rejected some Trump picks, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Health and Human Services secretary, Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence, and Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary.
The bottom line here is Fetterman is willing to sit down with Trump. For sure he doesn’t agree with everything Trump, but at least he has the guts to speak with him civilly.
We don’t want them getting elected now do we Mr. President?