Former senator\u2019s comments echo recent call from Erika Kirk that \u2018everyone has responsibility\u2019 to tone down hatred<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Politicians should \u201ccalm down\u201d and stop approaching one another in \u201cattack mode\u201d amid the US\u2019s climate<\/a> of political violence<\/a>, former US senator Joe Manchin<\/a> said on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The West Virginia independent who generally caucused with Senate Democrats<\/a> echoed similar comments made at a town hall Saturday by Erika Kirk, the widow of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot to death<\/a> in September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got to calm down a little bit,\u201d Manchin said on WABC 770 AM\u2019s Cats Roundtable<\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019ve just got to calm it down. Everyone should want your elected leaders to do well and you don\u2019t have to be scathing against him and saying: \u2018I hate this person, hate that person.\u2019 Just say: \u2018Listen, I disagree. I wish they would consider something else.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said that too many lawmakers remain \u201cin attack mode\u201d, adding: \u201cYou are not the enemy. And the American people aren\u2019t stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Manchin had long been a Democrat but left the party in 2024 to register<\/a> as an independent \u2013 shortly before retiring<\/a> from the Senate<\/a> after 15 years in office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A wealthy coal industry executive, Manchin argued that the party had grown intolerant and heavy-handed toward ordinary citizens, placing the blame on progressive activists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In his Sunday remarks, Manchin urged both Democrats and Republicans<\/a> to free themselves from the influence of the \u201cfar left\u201d and \u201cfar right\u201d and focus instead on forming a \u201csensible majority\u201d capable of advancing policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m fiscally responsible and socially compassionate,\u201d Manchin said. \u201cI think most Democrats<\/a> and Republicans feel that way. They might have different ideas of how to solve the problem, but they all are Americans. They feel strongly about our country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Manchin\u2019s comments illustrated how members of both political parties have recently called for a reduction<\/a> in heated political discourse, particularly following Charlie Kirk\u2019s killing in Utah on 10 September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Authorities who investigated Kirk\u2019s killing allege that the man charged with murdering the Turning Point USA co-founder did so after becoming sick of what he perceived to be Kirk\u2019s \u201chatred<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Saturday, during a town hall<\/a> hosted by CBS, Erika Kirk said that \u201ceveryone has a responsibility\u201d to tone things down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m doing my part,\u201d Kirk said in response to a question from an audience member. \u201cI\u2019m not in control of other people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The question came from Utah Valley University<\/a> student Hunter Kozak, who had asked Charlie Kirk about political violence moments before Kirk was fatally shot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kozak referenced tensions around political extremism and mentioned Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s recent comments accusing six Democratic lawmakers of treason for telling US military members to resist unlawful commands. On Truth Social, the president accused<\/a> the lawmakers of \u201cSEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR\u201d that was \u201cpunishable by DEATH!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWill you condemn the violent rhetoric of Donald Trump, the most powerful and influential person on Earth?\u201d Kozak asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kirk replied that the problem was \u201cso much more deeper than just one person\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rand Paul<\/a>, a Republican senator from Kentucky, also warned on Sunday of a potential rise in political violence spurred by the recent bipartisan push to draw new redistricting maps<\/a> meant to favor their parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think that it\u2019s going to lead to more civil tension and possibly more violence in our country,\u201d he said on NBC News<\/a>\u2019s Meet the Press, saying the move is a \u201cmistake\u201d by both parties to boost their prospects in the 2026 midterm elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think there is the potential that when people have no representation, that they feel disenfranchised, that it can lead and might lead to violence in our country,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sunday\u2019s commentary came after Trump survived two assassination<\/a> attempts<\/a> while successfully running for a second presidency in 2024. Then, in the months before Kirk\u2019s killing, there was the firebombing<\/a> of the official residence of Pennsylvania\u2019s governor, Josh Shapiro, as well as the fatal shooting of the former Minnesota state house speaker Melissa Hortman<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shapiro is a Democrat like Hortman was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n