What's New
Independent West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, a former Democrat, told CNN's Manu Raju in an interview that aired Sunday morning that the Democratic Party's brand is "toxic."
Newsweek has emailed Manchin's office and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) Sunday morning for comment.
Why It Matters
First elected to the Senate in 2010, Manchin won his 2012 election as a Democrat but became an independent in May amid intraparty squabbles.
Manchin, along with Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema, a fellow independent and former Democrat, sparked ire within the Democratic Party over the past few years when they frequently created headaches for President Joe Biden and other Democrats as they held razor-thin majorities in Congress' upper chamber. But come January, neither will be returning to Congress. Both retired this year rather than face tough races as independents.
Defenders of Manchin note that he does not represent a solidly Democratic seat, and adapting a more liberal voting record may have angered some more moderate and conservative constituents back home.
President-elect Donald Trump received 70 percent of the vote in West Virginia in this year's election, winning it by more than 40 points.
In September, Manchin said he wouldn't back Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris for president after she vowed to gut the Senate's filibuster rule to pass a bill codifying abortion rights.
"That ain't going to happen," he said at the time. "I think that basically can destroy our country, and my country is more important to me than any one person or any one person's ideology....I think it's the most horrible thing."
In his interview with Raju on Sunday, he dodged a question about his November vote but said he likes Trump and gets "along fine" with him.
What To Know
Raju asked Manchin on Sunday what caused his divorce from the Democratic Party.
Manchin portrayed progressives—a minority faction within the party that he claims wields disproportionate influence—as being out of touch with the majority of Americans. He said those "extremes" among Democrats led to what he believes is a "toxic" party brand.
The former West Virginia governor-turned-senator explained that he was a lifelong Democrat because the party once prioritized issues like "good jobs and good pay." Now, he says that progressive Democrats are now overly concerned with social issues, such as transgender rights, while taking "no responsibility at all" for the federal budget during the election.
"The 'D-brand' has been so maligned from the standpoint of, it's just toxic. I said, first of all, as an American, and as a as someone in the Senate...I'm going to help every human being pursue the happiness in their life, the pursuit of happiness. I don't care who they are. I don't care what color. I don't care who they love...And I'm going to make sure you have that opportunity and right to live your life," Manchin said.
He continued: "Just don't make your life, if it might be on the extremes or in the minority of few, make me believe that's the norm or make me and my family believe, or my children believe or this or that. No, I will protect you. Just don't try to mainstream it. And the Democratic Party, the Washington Democrats, have tried to mainstream the extreme."
What People Are Saying
Manchin to Raju on the prospects of a thriving American third party: "The centrist-moderate vote decides who's going to be the president of the United States. And when they get here, they don't govern that way. Neither side does. They go to their respective corners. So, if the center had a voice and had a party that could make both of these—the Democrat, Republican Party—come back, OK, that would be something."
Democratic activist Chris D. Jackson on X, formerly Twitter, after Manchin and Sinema blocked Lauren McFerran's renomination to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) earlier this month: "Their votes effectively hand Donald Trump the keys to the board the moment he takes office again. This is a betrayal of working families—and a gift to corporate interests, which is par for the course for these two."
What's Next
West Virginia Governor Jim Justice, a Republican, will replace Manchin in the U.S. Senate. The flipped seat helped give the GOP control of the Senate chamber.
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