Biden: No Labels bid would be ‘mistake’

President Joe Biden expressed concern over an effort by the group No Labels to consider mounting a third-party 2024 presidential ticket, saying it would only serve to help elect the Republican nominee.

Biden in an interview with ProPublica published Sunday was asked about the involvement of his onetime colleague, former Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, in the effort to organize a potential third-party challenge.

“Well, he has a democratic right to do — there’s there’s no reason not to do that. Now, it’s going to help the other guy and he knows,” Biden said. “That’s a political decision he’s making that I obviously think is a mistake. But he has a right to do that.”

Biden’s comments underscore growing concerns in Democratic circles that No Labels, a centrist advocacy group, will field its own candidate as an alternative to the nominees on the majorparty tickets. Polls show voter unease about a potential rematch between Biden, who does not face a serious primary challenger, and former President Donald Trump, the clear frontrunner for the GOP nomination.

West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, a conservative Democrat, has refused to rule out a third-party bid and appeared at a No Labels in New Hampshire in July.

Asked about the speculation over a 2024 bid, Manchin told Fox News Sunday he would make a decision by the end of the year and that candidates needed to reject the extremes in their parties.

“This country does not run on the fringes,” he said. “It never has. And it can’t start now. So they’re either going to come back or we’re going to bring it back.”