West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin refused to rule out running for president in 2024 during an interview Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” saying nothing is off the table amid the border crisis and high inflation.
Manchin and host Margaret Brennan were discussing negotiations in the House before Brennan asked whether Manchin would endorse Biden for president. Manchin said, “there’s plenty of time for the elections,” before saying he wants to see who is involved.
“You’ve said ‘let’s see who all the players are’ when it comes to running for president. You’ve said you’re not running for president. Is that an open question though?” Brennan asked.
“I didn’t say that,” Manchin said. “I didn’t say anything about that. The bottom line is I will make my political decision in December, whatever it may be.”
“To run for president?” Brennan pressed.
“I’m not taking anything off the table, and I’m not putting anything on the table. I said I’ll make a decision in January – at the end of this year.”
“You’ll make a decision at the end of this year as to-”
“Simply that,” Manchin said.
“Who you will endorse for president?”
“What my political future will be,” Manchin said. (RELATED: Manchin Says He’s Baffled Why ‘Reasonable’ Biden Won’t Negotiate On Debt Ceiling)
“For president?” Brennan asked.
“I will be making – any decisions I make politically will not be done until the end of the year. I’m focused on fixing what’s wrong with Washington and the politics are so toxic the more you talk about this party, that party, what candidate and this candidate, look at what you have facing you right now. You’ve got inflation, you’ve got basically energy, you’ve got unsecured borders, geopolitical unrest and we’re talking about everything but that.”
This is not the first time Manchin has been coy about his political future, notably refusing to rule out challenging Biden while speaking with Semafor in February. Manchin said he didn’t know what the future held, but was unsure “what the next chapter will be.”
Manchin, however, went on to say he would not run for president during a later interview, flatly stating, “I’m not running for President of the United States,” before noting his presidential ambitions could change “two years from now, a year and a half from now.”