Sen. Joe Manchin on Sunday did not rule out launching a last-minute race as a third-party candidate for the 2024 presidential election but said decisions about any such attempts should wait until after the Super Tuesday elections on March 5.
"For any third-party attempt, it would define itself by, let's say, Super Tuesday," the West Virginia Democrat, who is not seeking reelection to the Senate, told "Fox News Sunday." "We'll just see where we are at that point in time.
"Right now, both parties seem to have a hard time with the candidates ... I think you start looking after Super Tuesday to find out what the lay of the land is going to be. A lot can change in the next two months. So let's wait and see."
However, he insisted that he's "never been a spoiler, nor will I ever be a spoiler on any election" and that if he does run, he'll be running to win the race. "To be a spoiler for the sake of throwing the election one way or the other, I would never do," said Manchin.
The senator, also appearing on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday, criticized President Joe Biden but made it clear that he would never vote for former President Donald Trump, Biden's most likely opponent in November.
"I love my country too much to vote for Donald Trump," Manchin said. "I think it would be very detrimental to my country. I want to make sure that people have a choice."
He also told CBS that he's waiting to see what will be happening on Super Tuesday and whether there will be enough movement for a third-party candidate.
"People want options, or they want change; so we've got to see what comes. And by then I think things will, hopefully, sort themselves out," said Manchin.
He further said that he would do "whatever it takes" to save the United States and would support the candidate who he believes can best help the country return to a "common-sense, sensible middle."
"I'm going to do everything I can to save my country," said Manchin. "You can't govern from extremes."
Manchin was in New Hampshire on Friday, appearing less than two weeks before its primary elections to speak with voters as part of what he called a national listening tour.
The senator also on Sunday said he wants to push Biden into more of a center-party stand and that he thinks the president needs to do more about border reform, particularly with the standoff continuing about funding for Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel.
"The crisis at the border is the greatest crisis we face in America, the dangerous crisis that we're facing now," Manchin said. "I believe very strongly that the border needs to be secured ... close it down."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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