Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) warned Democrats that former President Donald Trump is far more popular in Pennsylvania than they may think. “Trump is going to be strong [in Pennsylvania], and we have to respect that,” Fetterman said.

After being asked at the 2024 Atlantic Festival what people — such as Pennsylvania voters, people he grew up with, and his friends — “see in Donald Trump that makes them want to vote for him,” Fetterman replied that he knows people who are voting for Trump even if they are “appalled by some of these things.”

Watch Below:

“And I never agreed with our approach talking about that he’s a ‘convicted felon,'” Fetterman continued. “I mean, I thought Democrats — we were the party that was all about second chances and that we’re not going to condemn somebody based on mistakes and that kind of situation.”

“I was convinced, too, that those kinds of trials and that kind of thing — it’s not going to have an impact on that,” the senator added. “It’s like, what’s left? He’s been impeached twice; now, it’s been two attempted assassinations, one where a bullet actually hit him.”

Fetterman went on to say, “I also want people to understand — it’s not science — but there’s energy, and there’s kinds of anger on the ground in Pennsylvania, and people are very committed, and Trump is going to be strong, and we have to respect that.”

“You can’t even understand it, and it’s not like a science that can explain it, but you have to just know that it’s real,” Fetterman warned.

Notably, Trump’s opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, seems worried about Pennsylvania, as she recently started claiming that she has never called to ban fracking despite the fact that she explicitly called to end fracking when running for president in 2019.

Earlier in September, after being asked by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer about Harris’s flip on fracking, Fetterman dodged the question, replying, “Let’s talk about Trump.” The senator added that he doesn’t think fracking will “be a defining issue in this election.”

Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.