Former Senator Joe Manchin is not exactly known for sugarcoating his words, and in his latest appearance on CNN, he didn’t hold back. The independent from West Virginia blasted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over her disgraceful comments in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, saying the Democratic Party is “getting worse, not better.”
The controversy began after the House voted on a resolution to honor Kirk, the young conservative leader who was murdered earlier this month. While the resolution was a chance for lawmakers to put politics aside and show basic human decency, AOC decided it was the perfect time to air her grievances. She claimed lawmakers should “be clear about who Charlie Kirk was,” accusing him of opposing civil rights legislation and rattling off a list of his conservative positions.
CNN’s Kasie Hunt brought up AOC’s statement during her interview with Manchin, and his response was one of genuine disgust. “First of all, I just saw a little while ago, and I was stunned, Kasie. I really was,” Manchin said. “This is not the place and the time for that at all.”
He went further, pointing directly at the ideological drift of his former party. “If AOC and the far Left, the extreme Left I want to say, believe that’s where the Democratic Party is today, then that’ll tell you why you lost people like me, and an awful lot,” Manchin explained.
Then he delivered the real gut punch. According to Manchin, since the November election more than 160,000 registered Democrats have left the party nationwide. “So if that’s the way the Democrat Party is going, it’s getting worse, not better.”
Former Democrat Senator Joe Manchin TORCHES AOC over her vile rhetoric about Charlie Kirk during a vote to condemn his assassination:
“If that’s the way the Democrat Party is going, it’s getting worse, not better.” pic.twitter.com/D7W18ohKlN
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 19, 2025
The numbers tell the story. Democrats are hemorrhaging support, not just from centrists like Manchin but from working class Americans who are tired of watching the Left use every tragedy as a political weapon. Instead of standing united to condemn the killing of a young conservative voice, AOC and her allies used the moment to smear his legacy.
It is a telling snapshot of where today’s Democratic Party is headed. Personal vendettas and identity politics take precedence over basic compassion and respect. Manchin is right. If this is the new face of the party, it is no wonder so many Americans are leaving it behind.