>
Manchin says Biden ‘should be very sorry’ about classified files debacle: The Democratic senator also complains that the president ‘has been pushed’ too far to the left, and will NOT say whether he will support Joe in 2024
- West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin criticized President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents as “irresponsible” after more files were found.
- Manchin did not say whether he himself will run as a Democrat in 2024.
- Asked if he would back Biden if he runs, Manchin said he would need to see ‘lay of the land’
West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin criticized President Joe Biden on Sunday for his handling of classified documents, a day after it was announced that another batch of such records had been recovered from his home in Wilmington.
Responding directly to Biden stating last week that he has “no regrets” about the affair, Manchin said: “Oh, I think he should be very sorry.”
He did not commit to the prospect of Biden’s likely re-election campaign, claiming that the president “has been pushed to the left” rather than the government in the middle.
‘How did this happen?’ the conservative Democrat said on NBC News’ Meet The Press as more questions arise about Biden’s handling of secret files.
West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin said President Joe Biden should be “sorry” for his handling of classified documents.
He described his own experience viewing classified materials in his secure facility, after which Manchin said he would be asked if he was “clean” each time he left.
They want to make sure you’re not carrying out anything. You know, and it could be a mistake, you could put it in your other papers, but you double check it there,” Manchin said.
‘So that- being held responsible is what we all are. And putting them in unsafe spaces is irresponsible.
That notion is supported by a majority of Americans, a new ABC News/Ipsos poll suggests, showing that 64 percent of voters think Biden handled the files “improperly.”
It’s too early to say whether the unfolding debacle will have any real effect on Biden’s likely 2024 campaign. A recent report in The hill suggests the president is still going full steam ahead with launching his re-election bid this year, despite the drama.
Biden has been forced to deal with one crisis after another as more classified documents are found and reported among his possessions.
But Manchin demurred Sunday when asked if he wanted Biden to run again.
“He’s going to have to make that decision,” the West Virginia senator responded, adding that it was a “personal” choice for the 79-year-old president.
Pressed again on whether he would support Biden if that decision were to come up, Manchin said: ‘I haven’t decided anything I’m going to do until I see what the lay of the ground is going to be at that point. because this country needs to come together.’
‘We have to get back together. We are not uniting. And it has to be someone who can unite this country,’ added the centrist senator.
He went out of his way to praise Biden, admitting that his party leader had “done a good job on so many factions.”
“I think there’s a lot more to do,” Manchin said.
Images of the entrance to President Joe Biden’s lakefront home in Wilmington, DE
‘I think they’ve pushed him too far to the left, and I think I’ve told him. I’ve been honest with that.
He called on both sides of the aisle to “work from the center,” even as lawmakers return to regular legislative sessions on Monday in the face of a sharply divided Congress.
Republican ideas are not always bad. And the Democrats don’t have…they don’t have all the answers,’ Manchin said. ‘And vice versa.’
The 75-year-old Democrat from West Virginia is up for re-election next year, when he is expected to face stiff competition to keep his seat in the dark red state.
But he evaded a question about whether he would run to the left.
“I haven’t made a decision about what I’m going to do in 2024. Now I have two years ahead of me to do the best I can for the state and for my country,” Manchin said when asked if he. d run like a democrat.