Wednesday, during an appearance on CNN’s “The Lead,” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) touted his independence, differentiating himself from the Democratic Party.
However, Manchin indicated he was in no rush to follow his colleague Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s (I-AZ) lead and leave the Democratic caucus.
“Jake, I don’t think there’s anyone more independent than me,” he said. “And that we have been voting in my entire life, over 40 years. I’m not a Washington Democrat. I have a lot of good friends who are Washington Republicans. This party tribal mentality is killing our country. People are sick and tired of it. I respect Kyrsten’s decision. God bless her. She made her decision, and she’s very articulate in the way she pointed out of why she did what she did.”
“And I think that basically, I will make my decision whenever I make the decision, or if I do make a decision, I will do it, and I’m not in any hurry to do that,” Manchin continued. “So, you know, the bottom line is I’m not changing how I vote. I’m not changing how I approach a problem. If my Republican colleagues have a good idea, I’m for it. I can go home and explain it.”
“If the Democrats have a good idea, I can support that also,” he added. “And I’m not afraid to say, I can’t support something that makes no sense at all to the Democrats or Republicans. So, people have gotten so. It’s what team are you on. I’m on one team. I’m on the American team. I would like to think we are all on the same side. We just have different branches. That’s all. But the same side as the American side.”
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