Manchin On Why He Left ‘Toxic’ Democrat Party: They’re ‘Trying To Mainstream The Extreme’

Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV) slammed the Democratic Party in an interview over the weekend for being “extreme” and “toxic.”

Manchin made the remarks during a Sunday interview with CNN when asked why he decided to leave the party that he has belonged to for decades.

“I am not a Democrat in the form of what the Democratic Party has turned itself into,” Manchin said. “The national brand. Absolutely not.”

He said he told members of the party that they needed to ask themselves why a lifelong Democrat like him left the party when he and his whole family have supported them for generations.

“The brand got so bad. The D brand has been so maligned from the standpoint of — it’s just — it’s toxic,” he said.

Manchin said that he takes the Constitution very seriously and he believes in protecting the rights of everyone, even those who are in a fringe minority.

He said though that even though he would fight for everyone’s rights he did not want to be gaslit into believing that those on the fringe extremes were “the norm” and he did not want those views imposed on children.

“I will protect you. Just don’t try to mainstream it,” he said. “And the Democratic Party, the Washington Democrats, have tried to mainstream the extreme.”

He said that in doing so, Democrats have infringed on people’s right to make their own decisions about what’s best for their lives.

“It’s the mindset of the left, the progressive left, which was always a minority,” he said.

WATCH:

New — Joe Manchin unplugged as he leaves the Senate.

“This has been the worst performing Congress in the history of the United States of America.”

The Senate “still sucks … The House sucks worse than the Senate.”

“The D-brand is …. toxic”

On progressive leader saying they… pic.twitter.com/IWbWyBkoui

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 22, 2024