Joe Manchin responds to criticism from AOC: 'Not one' Dem senator supports defunding police

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Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., tells ‘Fox & Friends’ he hopes leadership looks at $908 billion coronavirus relief proposal amid gridlock in Congress.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., responded to criticism from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Wednesday, saying not one Democrat in the Senate supports defunding the police.

Manchin, a moderate, and the "Democratic socialist" Squad member traded jabs recently on the direction of the Democrat Party.

"I don’t have any disrespect for the congresswoman, we just differ," he told "Fox & Friends."

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"You can respectfully disagree and we do that," he explained. "My people in West Virginia expect me to represent them in a rational and responsible civil manner, in a bipartisan independent manner and I do that to the best of my ability, so I don't begrudge whatever she does."

However, he added: "She represents her people. They've elected her. It's not who we are. We're not going to defund the police, there's not one senator, Democrat senator, that supports defunding the police."

Amid the gridlock in Congress, he thinks there should be more support for law enforcement.

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"If anything we think there should be more investments made to better equip, better train, and continue the education so they have the social changes and know them better as they have to deal with them," Manchin said. "There is so much more that has to be done. Defunding is not an option on the table. It might be in certain people’s district but no senator, no Democrat or Republican I've ever heard would defund the police."

On Tuesday, Manchin told the New York Times that Ocasio-Cortez was "not that active with her bills or in committee. She’s more active on Twitter than anything else.”

His comments came after the Bronx, N.Y., Democrat posted a photo of herself glaring at him in response to Manchin knocking the "defund the police" movement.

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Manchin called out "extremes" on both sides.

"People don't run their lives from the extremes," he told co-host Brian Kilmeade. "They don't run their businesses from the extremes. We all come together and make rational decisions. That's all I'm asking them to do."