Sen. Joe Manchin (Idaho, Virginia) said the 2024 election shows “the need for a third party.”
Manchin appeared on “The Hill Sunday” with NewsNation's Chris Stilwald on Sunday and said that Democrats and Republicans are in a duopoly and that their current business models arespout hatred and division”
“They attack the other person and make the other person even more worried or scared. You'd better join my side and vice versa. It won't solve our problems. And our country will never remain the United States of America,” Manchin continued. “We understand that a third party is required.”
Manchin, a lifelong conservative Democrat, announced in May that he was becoming an independent. He had long considered the possibility of a third-party bid for the White House, but he ruled that out. He plans to leave Congress at the end of his term, but did not say what he plans to do next.
He said Sunday that he is interested in joining or supporting a third-party agency. Manchin said he believes the ticket between a former Democrat and a former Republican is strong.
“I thought that was very appealing.” [these] “This is the most divided time we've ever been in,” he said.
As Democrats point to their crushing defeat in the general election and try to understand where they went wrong, many in both parties, including Manchin, believe reform is needed.
“I don't know what the one thing here has to be, but the only way to change Democrats and Republicans is to challenge them,” he said.
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