Former centrist U.S. Senator Joe Manchin denounces 'crazy' socialists hijacking Democrat party

Former U.S. Senator Joe Manchin.

Joe Manchin, the former U.S. senator from West Virginia, made waves on social media Sunday after he blasted the rising socialist takeover happening to the Democrat party, calling the ideas and policies of the ascendant candidates "crazy" during an appearance on Face The Nation.

Manchin was there along with his daughter, Heather Manchin, to discuss their new initiative to support independent candidates ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The former senator famously left the Democrat party in May 2024 and registered as an independent, months after his decision to not seek re-election. Manchin was a Democrat for decades, including while he served as West Virginia's governor, and was one of the first Democrats in government to recognize what was happening within the party, and leave the party due to its excesses. Others who also left the party, like Elon Musk, RFK Jr and Tulsi Gabbard, weren't serving in the government at the time they parted ways with the Democrats. 

The conversation turned testy when CBS News anchor Margaret Brennan pressed the Manchins on whether they could "ever support a self-described socialist candidate."

"No. No way. My God, no," they replied.

“I support the good ideas,” Joe Manchin continued. “But how could you support some of the crazy stuff they’re for? Have you seen their platform?” Manchin asked. “They’re for dismantling everything that we know, whether it be the structure of government, Congress itself, or the Senate they want to get rid of, and then they start talking about all the crazy things, no police, no this, no this, no that. Are you crazy?”

Manchin then went on to cite the policy ideas that he supports, ideas that historically have drawn wide support among Democrats, but now are anathema to many in the party.

“We want a crime-free area,” Manchin said. “We have to have police for that. Yeah. We want a strong defense, we want a strong border.”

Heather Manchin at one point during the conversation said the Democrat party leadership has been unable to stand up to the far left extremists who are hijacking the party.

 “Control has now completely outweighed character,” she said. “If you’re more interested in control, and that’s all that matters -- your vote count, versus the character of the person and the platform they’re running on, I think we’re living with the consequences of that.”

Watch a highlight of the testy exchange between Manchin and Brennan below and watch the full interview here.