Speaking to Fox News about the seething discontent and anger in America that has come with the horrific slaying of Turning Point USA founder and close Trump ally Charlie Kirk, former Democratic Senator Joe Manchin (WV) commented quite favorably about President Donald Trump and his ability to bring America together.
As background, America has been riven by disagreement and discontent in the wake of Kirk’s death, with Democrats and Republicans furious with each other over how things are going and in what direction they are headed, particularly with the horrific commentary issuing from the left, such as from Ilhan Omar, regarding Kirk’s supposed responsibility for his own killing.
Sen. Manchin, for his part, said that Trump is who could bring Americans together and stop the destructive infighting despite the horrific tragedy of Mr. Kirk’s horrible slaying. He began by noting that Trump is the one man who could do it, saying, “President Trump is the person who can basically bring us together.”
Continuing, Sen. Manchin shared what he thinks the president should say in this critical moment, telling FNC, “And I’m I’m praying that he’s able to say, ‘Listen, enough’s enough. Come on, we’re all Americans. We’ve got to live in this world together, in our country and keep it the greatest country on Earth. We can’t do it by tearing each other apart.'”
Manchin further added that he believes in the president’s ability to calm things down, saying, “And I’m really hoping, I believe in him. I believe he can do that, and with that being said, he’s able to calm down all this rhetoric right now, and those who want to basically still spew it, then that’s fine. It’s going to show you being on the extreme.” Watch him here:
Commenting on X when Charlie Kirk was murdered, Manchin said, “Today is a sad day for our nation. Gayle and I are praying for Charlie Kirk’s wife, family, and friends as they grieve a tragic loss. And we are praying for our nation, that we may take a step back. Words matter, and the hateful rhetoric that has brought us to today’s tragic events must stop.”
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He added, “It’s horrifying that politics in this country have become deadly. One of our nation’s greatest strengths is its diversity — of people, places, and politics. We can disagree with our friends and neighbors while still respecting their beliefs. It’s up to all of us to strongly reject the dangerous path our nation is headed down, and the violent, dehumanizing language that has brought us to this point.”
Manchin has since followed that up with other posts about how he believes in both sides working together on centrist compromises, the main point of his new book, “Dead Center.” In one such post about that, he said, “We have to stop demonizing people just because we disagree with them. We’re all on Team America, and we all share the responsibility of maintaining civil discourse and rejecting hateful attacks on one another.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video