Former Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia has written a book that shows he has a bone to pick with many Democrats.
Manchin, a Democrat-turned-independent who retired from the Senate in 2025 rather than run again in the deep red state, has written "Dead Center," which comes out Tuesday.
The book, a copy of which was obtained by Punchbowl News, features Manchin taking shots at prominent Democrats like Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, along with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
In the book, Manchin said he was rooting for Republicans to win back the Senate in 2024, because he believed they would maintain the filibuster, calling it "the only hope for preserving the Senate as an institution," while Schumer hoped to erase it.
"Schumer wasn't interested in debate or persuasion," Manchin wrote. "He wanted a spectacle. He wanted a vote he could weaponize, a moment he could broadcast to the radical left to prove his loyalty. This wasn't about governing or principle. It was about power."
While the former West Virginia governor and senator did criticize President Donald Trump, former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and other Republicans, he said Democrats tried to weaken democracy to advance their agenda.
"I don't say this lightly, but under the leadership of President Obama and Majority Leader Harry Reid, and later President Biden and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrats have systematically tried to weaken the very guardrails that have protected our democracy for generations — all in the name of advancing their agenda," Manchin wrote.
Manchin said Democrats have shifted over the past 10 to 15 years, moving from a "big tent that welcomed diverse perspectives" to a party that "has increasingly shifted toward ideological purity tests."
"When the party pushes hard on woke ideology, DEI mandates, and other social agendas, it creates unnecessary divisions, alienates everyday citizens, and moves us further away from the commonsense middle ground where most Americans actually live their lives," Manchin wrote.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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