Sen. Joe Manchin declines presidential run, cites Congressional chaos
During a Monday night interview, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) revealed he has opted not to pursue a presidential bid, attributing his decision to the current turmoil witnessed in Congress.
The statement was made on CNN's "The Source" with Kaitlan Collins, amidst discussions about the forthcoming 2024 presidential election.
“I saw my friends walk away when they were determined to pass a border security, and they were on board three days before that,” Manchin said in the interview. “And with Donald Trump coming as hard as he came at them, they cower down and walked away. I said, ‘We’re not fixing anything in Washington.'”
Manchin has consistently cautioned Biden and his team about shifting excessively to the left, stressing the need for a significant directional change to avoid a difficult period this November, reports the Daily Wire.
When asked about endorsing Biden, Manchin said: “I’m not endorsing anybody, right now. We’re gonna see what all happens, we still got plenty of time here. I’m gonna do everything I can to help move them back to the middle and show them where the strength of this country lies, where the voting bloc of the country lies, and extremes are going to be there no matter what. And I respect that. And I will do everything I can to make sure they have the ability to voice their opinion. But the minority does not rule the day.”
“I’m just I’m trying to do everything I can to make sure that we have a pathway forward where the center of this country is going to be represented. And that’s the center-left and center-right,” he continued. “That’s where the decisions, that’s where people live their lives. That’s the type of government they want. They don’t want the extremes. And what we’re seeing is extremes. Donald Trump is an extremist. And with that there’s people that are going in that direction. I still believe there’s enough good Republicans and Democrats that want this centrist type of approach to governing.”
In response to whether he would choose between Biden and former President Donald Trump in November, Manchin expressed uncertainty, noting that other candidates might still enter the race.
News — Sen. Joe Manchin declines to endorse President Biden after announcing he won't seek his own presidential run. "I'm not endorsing anybody right now. We're gonna see what happens," he tells me. "We still got plenty of time here." pic.twitter.com/g1mLt9XPuB
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) February 20, 2024

Ian Miles Cheong
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