February 26, 2024 - American Public News

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) talks to reporters during amendment votes, also called the “vote-a-rama”, on the Inflation Reduct Act at the U.S. Capitol August 7, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) again shook off the idea of a 2024 presidential run while speaking Monday at the Detroit Economic Club, saying he’s more interested in recruiting the next president, member of Congress or senator who wants to avoid partisan squabbling and get stuff done.Manchin, 76, who announced in November that he would not be seeking reelection to the U.S. Senate, is a well-known centrist who’s highly critical of the two-party political system and how government functions (or doesn’t) in Washington, D.C. He has often served as a swing vote in the U.S. Senate’s 51-49 Democratic majority and holds significant influence on environmental policy as chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.With Manchin bowing out of the U.S. Senate, the group No Labels had held out hope that he could run for president as a third-party candidate. But Manchin said in Detroit, “There’s not a pathway. If there was a pathway, it’d be a whole different story.”The longtime senator has made similar comments to the media leaving the door open for a future bid. Fostering such a political environment is Manchin’s current project as he visits states for a “Unite the Middle” tour.Manchin will not seek reelection to U.S. Senate in 2024, will hit the road to ‘unite the middle’“My goal was to build a third-party, a viable centrist party, to where my good friends in the Grand Old Party wanted to be grand again, but they’re not letting them and my good friends in the responsible Democratic Party that were compassionate, but very responsible, fiscally responsible, they have nowhere to go, but they’re forced,” Manchin said. “If we can give them a viable option, it could be a lot different and you won’t have the extremes running basically the both-party system.”Most people support centrist ideals, Manchin said, but they vote along party lines, believing that that’s where power resides.“That’s where they think the power is, [but] the power is not; it sits in this room,” Manchin said. “Most people that have been successful that are here, have lived your life by making reasonable, sensible decisions and most countries that are really prosperous have done sensible things. And here we sit right now and we’re not doing things because politics is ruining the day. And it needs to change.”Michigan’s presidential primary is on Tuesday. President Joe Biden faces a challenge from U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) and the “uncommitted” movement as some Arab-Americans and progressives have vowed to not vote for Biden amid his handling of the Israel-Hamas war. On the GOP side, former President Donald Trump is currently facing multiple criminal cases, but has continued to defeat former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in early state contests. Nonetheless, she is remaining in the race.Manchin voiced his condemnation of Hamas as a terrorist organization that fails to protect the Palestinian people, and urged a rejection of Hamas’ terms for a ceasefire, saying terrorism should be “wiped out” whenever possible.“If you don’t agree that Hamas is a terrorist organization, it’s hard to have a conversation,” Manchin said. “Why would you cease fire and basically give them time to reload?”Manchin said he refuses to be a “spoiler” in the 2024 election and he’d like to support whoever becomes president.“When my country does well, my state will do great. If my state’s doing good, that means my country is doing good,” Manchin said. “No matter who the president is, I’ve always taken that position. That’s my president. I want him or her to be the best they can be. I’m going to contribute the best I can to make them the best.”People have concerns about a Trump or a Biden presidency, but Manchin said he’d like to see people come together and recognize what entities are seeking destruction.“The Democrat is not your enemy if you’re a Republican. The Republican is not your enemy if you’re a Democrat. I can tell you where the enemies of our country are and they’re not in our country,” Manchin said. “Spewing this hatred … and talking about people and calling them names, I’ve never seen that and I just don’t adhere to that whatsoever, and I won’t, I don’t stand for it.”Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan J. Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and Twitter.The post With no pathway for a presidential run, Joe Manchin tries to ‘unite the middle’ in Detroit speech appeared first on Pennsylvania Capital-Star.

Daily Archives: February 26, 2024

With no pathway for a presidential run, Joe Manchin tries to ‘unite the middle’ in Detroit speech

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