(NewsNation) — Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo he doesn’t consider himself a “Washington Democrat” when he was asked if he’d ever leave the party like former Democrat Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.
The West Virginia Democrat said “we’ll see” and alluded to not having made any decisions on his party affiliation or who he’ll vote for. Right now, he says he’s focused on inflation, energy security, and border security.
“Whether I have a R or an I or a D is not going to change how I’m going to vote. But basically, you just get tired of fighting the fight sometimes because it seems to be the same old thing,” Manchin said.
Cuomo and Manchin were discussing the irony of Republicans enforcing COVID-19 rules at the border, but not in the rest of the country, and Democrats doing the opposite.
“This is tribalism is crazy. I belong to one party, the American party. I’ve always been the most independent. Whether you have D’s or R’s, just vote what’s right for the country,” Manchin said on “CUOMO.”