CHARLESTON – Sen. Joe Manchin said this morning he won’t seek the Democratic nomination for president.
“I am not running for office,” said Manchin, the West Virginia senator who recently switched his registration to Independent, on CBS Mornings. “I am not going to be a candidate for president. …
“I don’t need that in my life.”
He also dismissed any notion that he could end up on the ticket as Harris’ vice presidential nominee.
“Trust me, it’s not me,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Manchin said people had been “pushing in that direction” when he made another appearance on CNN This Morning.
In the wake of President Joe Biden’s announcement July 21 that he no longer would be seeking re-election, Manchin said he believes neither Republican former President Donald Trump nor Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris or any other Democrat who might end up on the ballot can win the election “without the middle.” And Manchin said he plans to continue “speaking for the middle of this country” as an independent.
“Joe Biden came out of a very contested primary in 2020 and he rose because he was that moderate figure,” Manchin said on CBS. “He always operated in the middle. He could make a deal with people on the right and the left.”
Saying he thinks Harris is “absolutely” too far left, Manchin also said he believes it would be a mistake if Democrats don’t hold a primary to determine who should top the party ticket following Biden’s exit.
“I believe it would help strengthen Kamala and her position too,” Manchin said. “But that’s already been predetermined, so we’ll see what happens. I think it’s a mistake, but it’s one that they have made. …
“Why is everyone afraid to speak out? Why are they afraid to say, ‘This system is wrong?’ The Democratic Party has gone too far left. The Republican Party has Donald Trump on the far right. People are looking in the middle, where do you go?
“Well, we’d like to see that. We’re not going to be able to see a vigorous, not even a three-week primary process. No one else is willing to speak up. They just say, ‘We’re falling behind, we’re going to get in line.’ I’m sorry, I don’t agree with that.”
On CNN, Manchin said he wants to provide a voice for those in the middle.
“My main thing is that we have a voice,” he said. “I want the middle to have a voice. We're not extreme left, we’re not extreme right. I don't run my life that way. Why do I have to only have two choices of a party?”
Again stressing he thinks Harris is “too far left,” Manchin suggested it might be possible for her to become more moderate now.
“You know, a person can be in one position and make a change, or a direction change,” said Manchin, who announced earlier this year he would not be seeking re-election the the Senate. “I would like to see that direction change. And let's see if that would happen.
“But unless you have a contested primary, or some type of contest, you're going to get what you've got.”