A former Democratic senator shocked Fox News viewers on Friday when he suggested that President Donald Trump is the only person who can \u201cbring this country together\u201d following the assassination of Charlie Kirk.<\/p>\n
The murder of Kirk, 31, has drawn sharp partisan lines as Trump and Republicans accuse Democrats of inciting violence with repeated comparisons to fascism and Nazism dating back to Trump\u2019s first term.<\/p>\n
Democrats have countered by pointing to Trump\u2019s own rhetoric, claiming he has encouraged a far greater degree of right-wing violence.<\/p>\n
That argument does not hold water with Joe Manchin, the former governor and senator from West Virginia.<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Trump is the person who can basically bring us together,\u201d Manchin told a startled Fox News host.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m praying that he\u2019s able to say \u2018listen, enough\u2019s enough. C\u2019mon, we\u2019re all Americans. We\u2019ve gotta live in this world together and our country, and keep it the greatest country on earth,\u2019\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
Manchin retired from the Senate this year after serving 14 years.<\/p>\n
During his time in Washington, he watched his coal-powered home state shift steadily Republican, leaving his seat an easy pickup for the GOP in last year\u2019s election.<\/p>\n
Since leaving office, Manchin has leaned into his reputation for bipartisanship and centrism, the principles that defined his time as a Senate deal-maker.<\/p>\n
He added that Trump is the only political figure today capable of bridging a divide that has never been wider.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really hoping. I believe in him. I believe he can do that, and with that being said, he\u2019s able to calm down all this rhetoric right now. And for those who want to still spew it? That\u2019s fine, it\u2019s gonna show you being on the extreme,\u201d Manchin said.<\/p>\n
The remarks drew attention because Manchin, a lifelong Democrat, had often been one of the Senate\u2019s most pivotal swing votes during years of narrow party control.<\/p>\n
WATCH:Partisan warfare over Kirk\u2019s death was also on display in Congress this week.<\/p>\n
\u201cSquad\u201d Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., once again accused Republicans of fascism and insisted it was \u201cnot a bad word\u201d if it was true.<\/p>\n
That set off Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., who clashed with Tlaib in a fiery back-and-forth that lasted nearly a minute as the committee chair attempted to restore order.<\/p>\n
Even moments of reflection turned tense.<\/p>\n
After House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., closed a silent prayer for Kirk, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., asked to read a public prayer.<\/p>\n
Democrats objected loudly, with booing and name-calling drowning out what had been intended as a solemn moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou caused this!\u201d Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., shouted across the aisle.<\/p>\n
\u201cPass some gun laws!\u201d a Democrat shouted back.<\/p>\n
The heated exchanges underscored just how polarized Washington remains in the wake of Kirk\u2019s killing \u2014 a tragedy that, instead of uniting, has become another flashpoint in America\u2019s political divide.<\/p>\n
That divide was shown again when New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took to the floor of the House on Friday ahead of a vote to memorialize Kirk, only to impugn his character and falsely claim he was anti-Semitic.<\/p>\n
During her speech, she also suggested a \u2018yes\u2019 vote was akin to being supportive of the \u201cJim Crow\u201d era of segregation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe majority proceeded with a resolution that brings great pain to the millions of Americans who endured segregation, Jim Crow, and the legacy of bigotry,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should be clear about who Charlie Kirk was: a man who believed that the Civil Rights Act, which granted Black Americans the right to vote, was a mistake,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho, after the vile attack on Paul Pelosi, claimed that \u2018some amazing patriot\u2019 should bail out his brutal assailant. And accused Jews of controlling not just the colleges, but also the non-profits, movies, and Hollywood,\u201d Ocasio-Cortez continued.<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cHis rhetoric and beliefs were ignorant, uneducated, and sought to disenfranchise millions of Americans, far from the \u2018working tirelessly to promote unity\u2019 asserted by the majority in this resolution.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"