Joe Manchin torches Democrats on the way out the door

As Joe Manchin prepares to leave Congress after nearly 15 years, the West Virginia senator — who left the Democratic Party and registered as an independent earlier this year — is further distancing himself from his former party, calling the Democratic brand “toxic.”

“The D-brand has been so maligned from the standpoint of, it’s just, it’s toxic,” Manchin told CNN’s Manu Raju in an interview that aired Sunday, citing the shift as the reason why he left the party.

Adding that he no longer considers himself a Democrat “in the form of what Democratic Party has turned itself into,” Manchin — who has long been a pivotal swing vote in the Senate — said the party’s brand has become about telling people what they can and can’t do, blaming progressives for the change.