Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who recently announced that he’s not running for reelection in 2024, said Tuesday he would not vote for Donald Trump in next year’s presidential election — but he also did not say he would vote for Joe Biden.
"I think it’s a hypothetical question ... not knowing what we’re going to have and who we’re going to have,” Manchin told CBS News. “To make a choice right now? OK, let me just say, I could not vote for Donald Trump."
Manchin, whose exit from the 2024 race gives Republicans a real chance to gain a Senate seat next year, hesitated when asked if he would vote for Biden.
"I want President Biden," he said in his first interview since announcing he's not running for reelection. "I would hope that changes would come. I would hope for that.”
Manchin is among the moderate Democrats in Congress. Being from a red state that overwhelmingly voted for former President Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020, his positions on energy, the environment, and government spending have often put him at odds with Democrat leaders, including President Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Manchin, who some believe will run for president in 2024 as part of the No Labels unity ticket, was asked if he plans to leave the Democratic Party.
"I'm not sure if the Democratic Party thinks I'm part of them anyway," he said.