Accused Of Being ‘Thirsty,’ Manchin Reveals Whether He Intends To Run Against Kamala Harris

Independent West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin revealed Monday he does dot intend to enter the 2024 presidential race after facing accusations of being “thirsty” for the nomination.

Speculations arose that Manchin intended to compete for the Democratic nomination following President Joe Biden’s announcement that he withdrew his candidacy on Sunday. The West Virginia senator, who is not seeking reelection, put an end to those speculations by saying he is not planning on running for any sort of political office.

“No, no, I’m not intending to run for any political office. I’ve made that very clear, I’m retiring,” Manchin told “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski. “But I’m gonna be involved, and I like to have a voice and I think I speak for the majority of Americans that are in the middle like me. Fifty-one percent of us are registered to participate and vote, but we’re independents and twenty-three percent of that base is Democrat and twenty-five percent is Republican.”

CBS News’ Gayle King said during a Monday interview that Americans are finding Manchin to be “thirsty” by calling for a Democratic primary process ahead of the general election. The West Virginia senator argued it is “not a winning strategy” to dedicate a campaign to “demonizing” former President Donald Trump.

“Well I’m just saying, we know who Donald Trump is,” Manchin said. “He basically confronted who he was at the end of the convention, okay? And he does not recognize basically the orderly transfer of power, the election is not basically recognizing insurrection, he has threatened concerns over whether we’re going to support Ukraine or not. And then, the rule of law. The judicial. So there are concerns that are still there, but people know that. And they know what they’re getting there.”