Democratic Senator Joe Manchin says he won’t make a decision on the White House bid until the end of the year — and says he wants to work with Trump if the indicted ex-President wins 2024
- Joe Manchin waits until the last minute to decide if he wants to run for president
- Wouldn’t commit Sunday morning to what party he would walk
- He said if Trump won another term he would do his best to work with him as a US Senator
Joe Manchin said he won’t make a decision on his candidacy for president in 2024 until “the end of the year.”
The West Virginia Democrat said whoever ends up in the White House next would work like a US Senator — even if that is now-indicted former President Donald Trump.
Manchin threw a curveball into his party identifier and refused to commit to whether he would run as a Democrat, Republican or third party if he made a bid for the White House.
“My application date is January 15, 2024 and I may make my decision a little sooner, but not before the end of the year, I can assure you,” Manchhin told NBC’s Meet the Press host Chuck Todd on Sunday morning.
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (right) said he won’t make a decision on his 2024 presidential nomination until “the end of the year”
“As a Democrat or something else?” Todd wondered.
“Well, party identification won’t change me. Democrat, Republican. I mean, having a D or R shouldn’t change you as a person. I’m still going to fight for the things I do,” Machin assured.
“Can’t I be a moderate centrist with any identification or no identification? I would think. I’m not going to change as a person,” the West Virginia senator continued. “I’ve been doing this for a long time.”
Usually there are very few challenges from members of the same party, if there is one incumbent in the White House.
However, President Joe Biden has not yet formally announced whether he will run for a second term — though he has indicated he has every intention of doing so with current Vice President Kamala Harris again as his running mate.
New polls show that 44 percent of Democratic voters do not want Biden to run for re-election in 2024, with only a quarter of respondents saying they want to see another chance and 30 percent showing indifference.
“Do you want to see him run again or not?” Todd asked Manchin.
“It doesn’t matter who my president is — whether it’s a Democrat or a Republican, whether it’s someone I voted for or not, whether he’s in the same political party or not — it doesn’t matter. Once the people of America speak and that is our president, I’m going to do everything I can to make them successful,” Manchin said.
He added, “Whether it’s Donald Trump or Joe Biden.”
“But I must speak to power when I know we can do better.”