Former Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) said the Democratic Party has veered away from its core values and has become “rudderless.”
Manchin explained why he left the Democratic Party and said party leaders have become too focused on social issues while neglecting working Americans, per Newsmax.
"I didn't leave the party. The party left me."
"It's not that it just changed so much," Manchin said on "The Record With Greta Van Susteren” Thursday. "The things that they were fixated on, the things that they believed, the things within the policy was things I did not understand, did not grow up with, and did not agree with."
Manchin became an Independent in 2024 after decades as a Democrat.
He added Democrats have "lost a working person because you forgot they're the ones that got you where you are. You have to have border control."
"You have to have a great defense, and you have to have police. Anyone in uniform should be praised and honored, because they're putting themselves in harm's way,” he said.
Manchin said Democratic candidates are not willing to take what he views as sensible positions.
"If they can't just say those basic social, commonsense things, they're in trouble," he said.
He explained he became an Independent, saying,
"I like both parties. I like Democrats and Republicans, and I want to work with them."
He added cooperation I'd key, but not encouraged in Washington.
"You can't get things done if you don't communicate, if you don't build relationships, and the other person's not your enemy all the time,” he said.
It also seems no-one is in charge of today's Democratic Party.
"We seem to be rudderless right now,” Manchin said.
Manchin promoted the Independent Leadership Council he founded with his daughter Heather Bresch.
He said the goal is to elect Independent lawmakers who "don't caucus with either party."
"If we can get two or three elected, it will make a big difference," he said. "Remember, it's of the people, by the people, and for the people. It's not of the party, by the party, or for the party."