Senator Manchin on Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and a Third Party

Joe Manchin came from immigrant parents and grandparents in in Farmington West Virginia to the Governor’s Mansion in Charleston, and then to the United States Senate in Washington, where he served from 2010 to 2025. Manchin left the Democratic Party in 2024 to register as an independent.During his Senate career, Manchin was known for taking centrist positions and for working with both parties. He often found himself at the center of national attention with huge power as he held the decisive vote especially when President Biden came to the Presidency in 2021. His new book, Dead Center: In Defense of Common Sense, is part memoir of a political life, a reminder of traditional values, a reflection on how polarization has reshaped Washington, why consensus has grown more difficult, and what it might take to renew trust in American government at a moment when many Americans fear the country is coming apart.This is an important moment for the United States as it approaches its 250th birthday in July. The country is deeply divided, the political center has weakened, and citizens are asking whether our democratic institutions can still meet the challenges ahead in an increasingly competitive world with Chinas.We will talk of many things including Manchin’s roots in West Virginia, the Presidency of Joe Biden and Donald Trump the midterm elections in 2026, the Presidential election in 2028 and what it means to be independent in an age of identity politics and why he still argues for common purpose, common ground, and common sense.