Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said this week that he was not committing to supporting President Joe Biden for a second term. The senator’s comments came after he announced both that he would not seek another term in the Senate and that he would not mount an independent bid for the White House.
The West Virginia senator said during a recent interview that he was not “endorsing anybody right now” for president. “We’re gonna see what all happens.”
“We’ve still got plenty of time here. I’m gonna do everything I can to help move them back to the middle and show them where the strength of this country lies, where the voting bloc of the country lies,” he said.
The senator said that he would wait and see if there would be any independent candidates, including from the group No Labels. The No Labels organization attempted to recruit Manchin himself for a third-party run.
Despite his lack of support for Biden, Manchin also criticized former President Donald Trump, blaming him for the collapse of an attempted congressional immigration bill.
News — Sen. Joe Manchin declines to endorse President Biden after announcing he won't seek his own presidential run. "I'm not endorsing anybody right now. We're gonna see what happens," he tells me. "We still got plenty of time here." pic.twitter.com/g1mLt9XPuB
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) February 20, 2024
Even prior to his statement that he would not run for the White House, Manchin has emerged as a key critic of the president from within the Democratic Party.
In particular, Manchin has differed with the president over the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022. The act includes elements that promote traditional fuel extraction, which is a key issue for the West Virginia senator.
However, following the passage of the act with Manchin’s help, the administration did not follow through on a number of its policies, drawing sharp criticism from Manchin. In addition, a number of conservative critics charged that the Inflation Reduction Act actually had few provisions to reduce inflation faced by consumers.
Following the passage of the act, Manchin’s poll numbers in his home state fell significantly. Current West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) announced that he was seeking the seat that Manchin currently held.
