Donald Trump's second term would destroy democracy 'as we know it,' charges Sen. Manchin – MarketWatch
“‘I don’t think that democracy as we know it would withstand another Trump administration.’”
That’s Sen. Joe Manchin, who said he sees danger on the horizon if Donald Trump wins another term as president, but he wouldn’t explicitly endorse fellow Democrat Joe Biden during a televised interview on Thursday.
Manchin’s comments about Trump, on MSNBC, came as the former president is facing indictments by prosecutors including in Washington, New York and Florida. Special counsel Jack Smith has examined Trump’s actions leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, and the former president has been charged with conspiracy to defraud the U.S., among other charges.
Read: Trump indicted by special counsel over efforts to overturn 2020 election
Trump, who has denied wrongdoing, is the overwhelming favorite for the Republican presidential nomination in polls.
Manchin has been openly flirting with a run as an independent, for either president or Senate. A poll reported Thursday by Politico found that Manchin would still face an uphill battle for reelection even if he left the Democratic Party.
When pressed on whether Biden is Democrats’ best option for president in next year’s election, Manchin would not commit.
“I don’t know who else is out there who’s willing to get into the race,” he said. Watch:
President Joe Biden on Tuesday said he would ask Congress to take "urgent action" to aid Israel after what he called "sheer evil" attacks by Hamas.
Robert Schroeder is the Washington bureau chief for MarketWatch. Follow him on Twitter @mktwrobs.
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