Joe Manchin calls Democratic Party ‘toxic,’ blames progressives

Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.V., delivered a parting shot to the Democratic Party, calling his former party "toxic" as he prepares to retire from office at the end of the congressional term.

Manchin, who was a lifelong Democrat before registering as an Independent earlier this year, blasted the Democratic Party in an interview with CNN’s "Inside Politics with Manu Raju" that aired on Sunday.

"The D-brand has been so maligned from the standpoint of, it’s just, it’s toxic," Manchin said, adding that he left the party because he no longer considered himself a Democrat "in the form of what Democratic Party has turned itself into."

Manchin blamed progressive lawmakers for shifting the party’s brand away from issues such as ensuring good jobs and good pay for Americans to instead focus more on...