Sen. Joe Manchin, in an interview with a West Virginia radio station, said Thursday that he has “absolutely” thought about becoming an independent, one of his strongest statements yet in his flirtation with exiting the Democratic Party.

After criticizing the Biden’s administration’s implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, which he helped write, and slamming President Joe Biden for “playing” to the Democratic base, Manchin said he has considered leaving the party.

“I want to be able to speak honestly about, basically, the extremes of the Democrat and Republican Party that is harming our nation,” Manchin told host Hoppy Kercheval.

[He’s been thinking seriously about the fact that West Virginia won’t elect Democrats any more. Unfortunately for Manchin, he’s one of the reasons for that. If he runs for the Senate or governor as an independent, he’d run against both a Democrat and a Republican — and Republicans won’t line up to vote for the guy who bailed out Chuck Schumer and Joe Biden. — Ed]