Setting the stage for his defection to the GOP. Update to this previous story.
At least one Senate Democrat is not rallying behind Minority Leader Harry Reid’s sharp criticism of President-elect Trump.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said that Reid, who said Trump’s election has “emboldened the forces of hate and bigotry,” is contributing to the division in the country when he should be working to unite Americans after a tough election.
“Senator Harry Reid’s statement today attacking President-elect Trump is wrong! It is an absolute embarrassment to the Senate as an institution, our Democratic party, and the nation. I want to be very clear, he does not speak for me,” Manchin said in a statement on Friday.[…]
Manchin this week said that he might be willing to switch parties in the event the Senate was split 50-50. A MSNBC reporter said that Manchin would not commit that he was definitely going to be a Democrat for the next two years.