Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) hinted that he may run for president in 2024, stating that all options are on the table.
Chuck Todd, moderator of NBC’s Meet the Press, questioned Manchin during an interview, “if you run for office in 2024, are you going to run as a Democrat?”
In response, Manchin stated that while he has not yet made a decision, he is strongly considering a run. However, he avoided answering which political party he would run for as much as possible.
“I haven’t made a decision what I’m going to do in 2024. I got two years ahead of me now to do the best I can for my state and the country,” Manchin said, adding “everything’s on the table,” but running for governor, which the Democrat has already done.
When asked if he will run outside of the Democratic Party, Manchin avoided directly answering the issue, implying that leaving the Left is a major possibility.
Manchin stated, “The only thing I can tell you is when I make my decision, what I think is the best I can support and represent the people of West Virginia and also be true to this country and the Constitution.”
“You know where I’m going. You’re not telling me no,” Todd pressed for a response once again.
“I’m telling you I’m doing everything I can when I make my decision. I make it based on what’s best that I can do to support my country and my state,” Manchin responded.
Following Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s (D-Arizona) resignation, Manchin declined to rule out a future departure from the Democratic Party last month.
“I’ll look at all of these things. I’ve always looked at all those things, but I have no intention of doing anything right now,” Manchin said in an interview with CNN “Whether I do something later, I can’t tell you what the future is going to bring.”
In the past, Manchin stated that he was not a “Washington Democrat,” threatening to leave his party over conflicts with colleagues over the failed Build Back Better initiative of the Biden administration.
At the time, he said “me being a moderate centrist Democrat, if that causes you a problem, let me know, and I’d switch to be an independent. But I’d still be caucusing with Democrats.”