Joe Manchin Says He Would Never Back a Socialist Candidate, Calls Some Democratic Platforms 'Crazy'

Former West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin drew a hard line on socialism during Sunday's broadcast of CBS' "Face the Nation," telling host Margaret Brennan he would never support a candidate who identifies as a socialist, regardless of any individual policy he might otherwise agree with.

"No way," Manchin said when Brennan asked directly. "My God, no."

When Brennan pushed back, asking whether he'd reconsider if the candidate held some good ideas, Manchin drew a distinction between specific policies and the broader platform. "I support the good ideas," he said. "But how could you support some of the crazy stuff they're for?"

Manchin pointed to what he described as sweeping structural demands from the socialist wing of the party. "Have you seen their platform?" he 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?"

He argued that basic government functions, including law enforcement, national defense and border security, aren't optional. "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."

Manchin also warned that embracing socialist-aligned energy policy would undermine an area where he believes the U.S. currently holds global leverage. "But if Democrats can't say that, and they start lining up with the socialist demands of what you are to be a socialist, energy will be gone," he said. "There'll be no energy, OK? We have right now a tremendous amount of energy we're producing, and the world depends more on us than ever before."

Manchin's daughter, Heather Manchin, appeared alongside him and offered a sharper critique of party leadership, arguing Democrats have avoided drawing boundaries with the party's left flank. "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."

The context behind the comments

The Manchins' remarks came after several openly socialist candidates ran and won Democratic primary elections around the country. Some DSA-backed politicians, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and New York congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier, have risen in prominence and popularity within the Democratic Party.

A July Fox News poll found that more Democrats held a favorable opinion of socialism (52%) than capitalism (41%). Among registered voters, 30% had a favorable view of socialism, up from 27% the previous year — a data point Fox has used to argue the party's rank and file, not just a fringe, is shifting left.

Manchin did not specify which candidates he considers unacceptably "crazy," nor did he cite specific legislative text calling for abolishing the Senate or eliminating police departments outright. Manchin's comments did not address what specific policies any individual DSA-aligned candidate has proposed on policing.

Fox News Digital said it reached out to the Democratic Socialists of America for comment but had not received a response by the time of publication.

Where this leaves the party

What's notable in this exchange is the specificity of Manchin's refusal: not criticism of a single policy, but a categorical rejection of any candidate carrying the socialist label, even one whose individual proposals he might otherwise support.

The unresolved question is whether Democratic primary voters share that categorical view or the more selective, policy-by-policy approach Manchin says he'd prefer. With DSA-backed candidates having already won competitive primaries and Mamdani now serving as New York City mayor, that question is likely to keep playing out in future elections rather than being settled on a Sunday talk show.