Exclusive Interview With Senator Joe Manchin

Manchin discussed partisanship, advice for youngsters, and soft support for some Republicans.

The Spectator held an interview with Senator Joe Manchin (I-WV) at the 2024 West Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Business Summit, held at the Greenbrier Resort. Senator Manchin delivered the keynote speech for the summit’s second day.

Manchin has been a figure in West Virginia politics since 1982. He quickly elevated himself, moving from the House of Delegates to the State Senate, becoming Secretary of State by the turn of the century. Manchin served as the governor of West Virginia from 2005 to 2010, an office for which he previously ran in 1996 in his only political defeat.

Manchin was elected to the Senate in 2010, permanently filling the vacancy left by the death of Senator Robert Byrd. Known for being one of the most conservative Democrats in the Senate, he has seen his personal influence over national politics grow as he and Kyrsten Sinema’s relative moderacy has curtailed much of the Biden administration’s agenda.

Since his decision to leave the Democratic Party, Manchin has continued to caucus as a Democrat. He will not run for reelection this November. Instead, he has decided to travel the country and “see if there is an interest in creating a movement to mobilize the middle and bring Americans together.”

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Q: Describe how you are able to not bow down to the demands of either party.

A: Well I was born and raised as a Democrat, a Southern Democrat, which would be more of a conservative Democrat. Most of that has gone by the wayside, as you know, over the years. The South was all Democrat at one time, and then it’s changed completely in today’s politics. But what’s happened to the political party — I’m not a Washington Democrat, I have many many friends that are Washington Republicans — but there’s no middle, there’s no middle support, so you get involved in the political process. You either go Democrats or you go Republicans and once you get in, you’re supposed to pick that side and you’re supposed to hate the other side, and I never found a Republican that I didn’t like, and I never found a Democrat that I didn’t like, and I never found either side that I always agreed with. So I found myself in a conundrum.

And I remember right now, our founding fathers and the purpose of democracy, and how George Washington could’ve been King George, but he didn’t want that, that’s what they were fighting for and fought against. He was going to be a one term president, he wanted to show himself and set the example, but he was afraid of the political classes that would be clashing. I think at that time it would've been Jefferson and I think Alexander Hamilton, but basically, they were not in agreement, and he was afraid that if he steps aside, after the very premature beginning of our country, [in its] infancy growing, that it would maybe dissolve and cause a party fight, so he stayed for an extra four years.

But his farewell address: “Be aware of the political parties, for they will usurp the power from the people,” and that’s what we’re seeing happen. You shouldn’t have to pick a side and the other side’s your enemy. The only side we have is the American side; we’re all in this together. You might have a D by your name, an R by your name, an I by your name, we should all be able to identify the same problem and work through different angles of fixing that problem.

And don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. I’ve been in politics for 42 years: I never voted for a perfect bill in my life. No one’s ever presented me with a perfect bill. And I kind of relate it to how we are infatuated with sports. I like to see a touchdown every time I go see a football game, every play. I’m happy with a few first downs, because if I get enough first downs I get a touchdown. I’m moving the ball. I like to see a 3 point shot every time I watch a basketball game. I’m happy with some foul shots that win the game sometimes. You follow me?

Put it in perspective so people can understand what we’re trying to achieve here. Any time you can take a situation where you bring the left and the right together — what you started with and what you finish with is better than what you started with. And if that’s the case, accept it and move on. And keep working to perfect it. Because the constitution says, we are working towards a more perfect union. We know it couldn’t be, but we’ll always strive for that.

So that’s where we are. And so it’s gonna be your generation that steps up with some common sense and stops all this bickering and fighting and allows the political parties to threaten to primary you if you “don’t follow the mantra,” if you will. And then you basically have to be pure. You have to be a pure Democrat or a pure Republican. I’d rather be much more of a pure American. My cause and purpose, O.K. I’m hoping that we can show, and somehow we can start in your generation, start forming support for those in the middle.

And my last thing I will tell you. Both parties can’t win without those of us in the middle. Out of 160 million people you only have about 23% registered Democrats and 25% registered Republicans. 51% are like me, no party affiliation—or independents—and we’ve got to pick a side.

So what are you going to do to attract me? But I don’t like that you’re trying to force me to hate someone, so I’m not going to do that. And some of these things about not holding people accountable and responsible is not accurate and not sustainable. There’s a lot going on in the political world. You guys need to step up.

Q: Does RFK endorsing Trump give you any sort of sway in either direction?

A: He has the right to do whatever he wants to do. What it does show you is this: RFK not being able to even compete in a Democratic primary, with his uncle being a former revered Democrat president, his father, his whole family, the Kennedy dynasty being Democrats, and even if you like or agree or don’t agree or whatever you think of him, he should’ve been able to participate. He wasn’t able to, so that shows a flaw in the system.

He chose for whatever reason he made that decision, but I know one thing: if you’re in a situation that you cannot win, but you are gonna be that spoiler, you’re going to be damned if you do and damned if you don’t. There’s going to be one side that thinks you’re great and the other side that’s not gonna like you at all because you cause this person to lose or vice versa on the winning side, but that’s a tough one. He was in a no-win situation — could he have stayed neutral? That’s up to him to decide. Is it going to be a help to him? I don’t think it will be appreciated with his family members that well.

Q: Are you planning on staying neutral all of the way through the election?

A: Well there’s Republicans I really want to win, I want to see win, because they’re just good people, I know them. I don’t look at them as a Republican, I just look at them as a good person who should be in Senate or should be in Congress or should be in politics somewhere. And if it’s an independent, if it’s a Democrat so I’ll be involved, but I’ve always done that, I’ve never voted straight tickets.