Manchin Laments Country's 'Direction,' Doesn't Rule Out WH Run in '24

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Manchin Laments Country's 'Direction,' Doesn't Rule Out WH Run in '24

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. (AP)

By Jay Clemons    |   Tuesday, 07 February 2023 04:08 PM EST

 

 

 

  

 

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Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., left the door open on a possible run for the White House Tuesday, by telling reporters he's not satisfied with this country's direction.

When asked if he would run for president in 2024, Manchin also stated, "I don't know what the next chapter will be. I don't know" what the future holds.

Manchin also didn't entertain any hypothetical of him seeking the nation's highest office as either a Democrat or third-party candidate.

"I can tell you one thing: I feel, like most Americans, we've got to come together. Americans want to be united, they want to be together, and right now we're going further apart," added Manchin.

Covering the last two years, Manchin has occasionally butted heads with Democrat leaders on various spending initiatives.

More recently, the West Virginia Democrat has been critical of his own party members for refusing to negotiate with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on America's looming debt-ceiling standoff.

"It's unreasonable for any senator, any congressperson representing the United States government to say, 'I'm not going to negotiate,'" Manchin told reporters, according to The Hill. "If you can't communicate and you won't talk to each other, you got a problem."

The American people potentially view Manchin as one of the most conservative Democrats in the Senate.

As such, if he were to run for president, Manchin might find himself in small company among the other centrist Democrats making a bid for the White House in 2024.

"I'm not saying I have any aspirations" to run for the White House, said Manchin, while adding that, factoring in his 12 years in Washington D.C., "I don't like what I see; I don't the direction we're going and I'm going to work and commit myself to try to get people who want to do the right thing to find the pathway forward, bringing the country back together."

However, Manchin reiterated to the press that he still thinks "the world of President Biden; he's been a friend for a long, long time."

Last month, Manchin told NBC's "Meet The Press" that "everything's on the table" regarding any presidential thoughts, or another Senate run next year.

"I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that when I make my decision, I make it based on what's best ... for my country and my state," Manchin said.