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Sen. Joe Manchin, IW.V., took a parting shot at the Democratic Party, calling his former party “toxic” as he prepares to retire from office at the end of the Congress term.
Manchin, who was a lifelong Democrat before registering as an independent earlier this year, criticized the Democratic Party in an interview with CNN’s “Inside Politics with Manu Raju” that aired Sunday.
“Brand D has been so maligned from the point of view of, it’s just, it’s toxic,” Manchin said: adding that he left the party because he no longer considered himself a Democrat “in the way the Democratic Party has become.”
Manchin blamed progressive lawmakers for shifting the party brand away from issues like ensuring good jobs and good wages for Americans to focus more on sensitive social issues like transgender rights and telling Americans what they can or they can’t do.
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Manchin left the Democratic Party earlier this year and registered as an independent. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images, File)
“They’ve basically expanded by thinking, ‘Well, we want to protect you there, but we’re going to tell you how to live your life from here,'” Manchin said of the Democratic Party.
He vindicated the progressives Washington, DC, they are out of touch with Americans, saying, “This country doesn’t go left.”
Manchin was often a crucial vote in the Senate. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images, file)
But Manchin didn’t just criticize Democrats, he pointed the finger at Republican lawmakers who he says are “too extreme” and lack common sense on the gun issue.
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“I’m not going to ban you from buying it,” Manchin said of guns, “but you’re going to have to show some responsibility.”
“So the Democrats are going too far, they want to ban,” Manchin said. “The Republican says, ‘Oh, let the good times roll. Let everybody have what they want.’ There’s just common sense stuff.”
Manchin, who has often been a crucial swing vote, was known for his moderate approach and bipartisan work on national issues. in the Senate
Manchin served 14 years in the Senate. His political career began as a state delegate in the early 1980s, before being elected as a state senator until the late 1990s. Manchin served as secretary of state for four years, then was elected governor of West Virginia in 2005.
Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.
