U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is continuing to hint that he might soon be making a run for the White House as an independent in 2024.
Manchin, 75, a frequent critic of President Joe Biden who has opposed much of Biden’s agenda despite how much it antagonizes fellow Democrats, said he is concerned about how divided the country is.
“People are upset with both President Biden for not bringing the country together … and also with Donald Trump for being a tremendous divider,” Manchin said in an interview with The Messenger on Friday. “When you look at that, people are just naturally saying, is there something else? Is there something better?”
When asked if that “something better” was himself, Manchin said: “It has a lot of options. Let’s put it that way. A lot of options. I have a lot of gas in the tank still left.”
Manchin is caught in a political no man’s land as he faces reelection in 2024.
As a Democrat in a deep red state — Donald Trump carried West Virginia by 42 points in 2016 and nearly 39 in 2020 — his chances of winning a full third term appear slim, especially considering popular two-term Gov. Jim Justice announced he will be running for the GOP nomination.
Manchin has had much political clout during the Biden administration, especially during the first two years when the Senate was evenly divided. His swing vote was key in Biden being able to pass the Inflation Reduction Act last year. But he recently said Biden betrayed him regarding the bill’s focus on deficit reduction and expansion of fossil fuel energy, crucial to West Virginia, which heavily relies on coal production.
Manchin, chair of the Senate Energy Committee, has been blocking Biden nominations to the Environmental Protection Agency over permitting new fossil fuel production and power generation and a draft rule to slash power plant emissions.
“Now, what they’re trying to do and why I’m so upset, they’re trying to implement a very liberal portion of the [Inflation Reduction Act] that couldn’t pass. That’s why I’m going to fight them,” he said.
Manchin said he has no intention of switching parties or becoming an independent like former Democratic Sen. Krysten Sinema of Arizona did earlier this year. He has yet to formally announce his reelection bid, saying he will wait until December. But if he does run for president, a lot of his campaign likely would focus on how both parties are abandoning the nation’s political center.
“I’m more concerned about my country than I’ve ever been, and our standing in the world,” Manchin said. “I’m concerned about the things I know we can fix. We can get our financial house in order. It doesn’t seem my Democrat colleagues are as concerned about that as I am. On the other hand, I’ve seen Republicans really have the chance to make changes, and they haven’t either.”
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.