https://www.newsweek.com/-By Katherine Fung
Senator Joe Manchin said he hasn’t decided if he’ll support President Joe Biden’s reelection in 2024. Above left, Manchin speaks at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on July 19. At right, Biden talks to journalists in the Oval Office on July 12. Anna Moneymaker/Chris Kelponis/Getty Images
Democratic Senator Joe Manchin hasn’t decided if he’ll pledge his support for President Joe Biden for a second term in 2024, saying it would ultimately depend on who is running in the next presidential election.
“I don’t know who is going to be running. If Joe Biden runs again and he is the Democratic nominee, depending on who the Republican nominee is, we will just have to wait and see,” Manchin told former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo on an episode of his new podcast, The Chris Cuomo Project.
“I am not predicting anything or how I would support or not support, or get involved or not,” he said. “But I can tell you this: Whoever the elected president is—Democrat, Republican, independent—every one of us should pray they succeed. I am going to do everything I can to make that person successful.”
Biden has repeatedly said he plans to run for reelection, with Vice President Kamala Harris as his running mate again. Former President Donald Trump has also hinted that he will be back on the ballot in 2024, although he has not made an official announcement.
The West Virginia Democrat has long faced criticism from members of his party over his unwillingness to back his party’s agenda, especially when much of it hinges on his pivotal vote in an evenly divided Senate. Many in the party have urged him to change his stance on the filibuster and consider ending the Senate rule so Republicans can’t use it to block Democratic bills.
This week he surprised many when he reached a deal with Senate Majority Chuck Schumer on an energy and health care bill after he had earlier signaled he would not support climate legislation. The bill, which contains provisions addressing the climate crisis, now has a chance to become law as soon as next month, despite expected GOP opposition.
On the podcast episode, which was released Thursday, Cuomo was taken aback by Manchin’s comment on a second Biden term. The show’s host said he had never heard of a sitting senator suggest that a sitting president in his party does not have his automatic support.
In response, Manchin said, “Well, I don’t know what to tell you on that. I’m always for the right person when they’re running.”
On the podcast, Manchin said he doesn’t believe voters in his state would support a national Democratic figure for president at this point. But whether the senator himself would run for the office in 2024 remains an open question.
Manchin also said that while he thought Biden was “a good person,” he disagreed with the president over his “lack” of an energy policy and the way he has handled the nation’s surging inflation.
Asked about the blowback he gets from his fellow Democrats, Manchin said, “They don’t control me. I don’t work for them. I work for the people of West Virginia.”
“Chuck Schumer is not my boss, OK? Mitch McConnell is not the boss. It’s the people you represent,” he said. “And if I can’t go home and explain it, I can’t vote for it. I’ve been very clear. I’ve never changed.”