Exclusive | Thune ready to have conversation with Fetterman about joining GOP as Dems rage against RNC stunt

DALLAS — Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told The Post in an exclusive interview Thursday that he’s willing to woo Sen.John Fetterman to join his conference after the Pennsylvania Democrat made a surprise virtual appearance at the Republican convention.“If and when he is ready to have that conversation, we are certainly ready to have it,” the Republican leader said.

“It’s going to be increasingly hard for him to have a home in a Democratic Party that is so far out of step with his core values, and I think that you know what he said yesterday reflects that.”“I don’t push him on it,” Thune added, speaking on the sidelines of the Republican midterm convention in Dallas the morning after Fetterman appeared on the jumbotron to express support for fellow Pennsylvania Sen.Dave McCormick, a Republican.Rep.

Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) dismissed the video endorsement as a “stunt,” before taking aim at Fetterman’s “work ethic” and claiming the senator was “just not present” in his official duties.“My constituents are livid.Those who went out and knocked doors for him are absolutely livid,” Dean said.Fetterman took the rare step of praising McCormick, who at one point might have been his 2022 opponent, at the Republican convention as questions swirl about whether he will change his party registration — or be ousted in the future by a primary challenger from his own party.Fellow Pennsylvania Democratic Rep.

Chris DeLuzio (D-Pa.) has also said he’s “gotten a lot of encouragement” to primary Fetterman in 2028.Though he’s sided with the GOP on key votes such as government funding, Fetterman suggested that if his party officially becomes “the anti-Israel party,” he’d have to depart.“I’d be a terrible Republican who still votes overwhelmingly with Democrats,” he has also said, referring to a voting record that shows at least 80% of the time he joins with his own caucus.“I’m a lifelong Democrat who votes overwhelmi...