Manchin Slams Left: No Police, No Border?

Joe Manchin told CBS News he would never back a self-described socialist candidate, then fired back “Are you crazy?” when host Margaret Brennan suggested socialists have good ideas.

Story Snapshot

Manchin said “no way” and “my God, no” when asked if he’d ever support a socialist candidate.
He accused socialists of wanting to dismantle Congress, the Senate, and police departments.
Manchin tied his rejection to crime control, national defense, border security, and energy production.
He said the Democratic Party’s “socialist trend” pushed him to leave and register as an independent.

Manchin Draws A Hard Line On Socialism

Joe Manchin, the former West Virginia senator who now identifies as an independent, appeared on CBS’s “Face the Nation” and flatly rejected ever backing a socialist candidate. “No way,” he said. “My God, no.” When host Margaret Brennan pushed back and suggested socialists have “good ideas,” Manchin shot back, “Are you crazy?”

Manchin drew a clear line between individual policy ideas and full socialist platforms. “I support the good ideas,” he said, “but how could you support some of the crazy stuff they’re for?” He said he could back specific proposals without endorsing the broader movement pushing them, a distinction he has made repeatedly since leaving the Democratic Party.

He Warns Socialists Want To Gut Basic Government Functions

Manchin did not stop at rhetoric. He said socialists want to tear down “everything that we know,” naming Congress and the Senate itself as targets, and pointed to calls for “no police, no this, no this, no that.” That claim reflects Manchin’s own characterization of socialist goals rather than a specific candidate’s written platform, so readers should weigh it as his assessment, not a verified quote from any single campaign document.

He then listed the priorities he says cannot be sacrificed for any progressive wish list. “We want a crime-free area,” Manchin said. “We have to have police for that.” He added that Americans “want a strong defense” and “a strong border,” warning that going along with socialist demands would leave the country with “no energy.” For voters worried about crime, open borders, and rising energy bills, that list reads like a checklist of everything the Trump administration has spent the past year trying to fix.

A Pattern Going Back To His Break With Democrats

This was not a one-off outburst. Manchin has said for years that the Democratic Party’s leftward shift is what pushed him out the door. He told The Hill that the party’s “socialist trend” was “something I could no longer accept, which is why I departed.” His break with Democrats came after he spent years as the chamber’s most reliable brake on the party’s biggest spending bills.

Manchin sank President Biden’s Build Back Better Act in December 2021, telling reporters plainly, “I cannot vote to proceed with this legislation.” That nearly $2 trillion social spending and climate package collapsed largely because Manchin refused to sign off, a decision that infuriated progressive lawmakers at the time but saved taxpayers from another massive expansion of federal spending during a period of runaway inflation.

Why This Debate Still Matters Heading Into The Midterms

Manchin’s comments land as self-described democratic socialists continue winning Democratic primaries in New York and other races around the country. His warning underscores a real split inside the Democratic Party between centrists who once ran on kitchen-table issues and a rising left flank pushing further toward government control of the economy, open borders, and defunding police departments.

SOCIALISM=COMMUNISM

Joe Manchin shuts down the socialism question hard.

On Face the Nation, Margaret Brennan asks: “Could you ever support a self-described socialist candidate?”
Manchin: “No. No way. My God, no.”

When she presses, “Even if they have some good ideas?”, he fires…

— Gina Beana Fofina (@Ginasassyass) August 3, 2026

For conservative voters, Manchin’s blunt rejection offers a rare moment of agreement from a former Democrat on issues Republicans have championed for years: strong borders, funded police, real national defense, and domestic energy production. Whether Democratic leadership listens to that warning, or keeps drifting toward candidates Manchin calls “crazy,” will shape how competitive the party remains in future elections.