WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin tells me he is considering running for president.
“I’m open to whatever it takes to save the country,” Sen. Joe Manchin, (D-W.Va.) said.
Manchin has started a nationwide campaign called Americans Together, he wants to give moderates who are frustrated with extremes in both parties a new political home.
“You might be my opponent, but you’re not my enemy. You might have a different idea. But if we work together, we maybe can come up with a plan.”
Manchin says today’s politics have taken a turn for the worse– and blames both Donald Trump and President Biden.
“Is there a way to get President Biden back towards the middle a little bit, where he came from? He’s been pushed clear to the left.”
As GOP presidential candidates focus on the South Carolina primary, Manchin says Nikki Haley should stay in the race and applauds her for taking on former president Trump.
“She’s trying to bring him out into a public debate. I think that’s all healthy.”
Fellow West Virginian, Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) doubts a third-party candidate could be successful.
“I don’t know what the endgame is here. I don’t know. You know, he’s been touted as being, you know, some kind of a candidate or a brokered candidate for the president, ” Sen. Moore Capito said.
