Former West Virginia senator Joe Manchin portrays a warmer, more collaborative working relationship with Donald Trump than with Barack Obama in his new memoir, Dead Center: In Defense of Common Sense. The book, released this week by St. Martin's Press, depicts Trump as an outsider who maintained an unusually open line of communication with Manchin and sought his counsel on policy and electoral calculations. Manchin, who left the Democratic Party to become an Independent before retiring from the Senate last year, writes that he spoke with Trump more in the first two years of Trump's term than he did with Obama during all eight years of Obama’s time in office.
"From the start, President Trump had an open line of communication with me," Manchin writes, framing a relationship built on direct, frequent contact. He notes that he spoke with Trump more in the first two years of the presidency than in Obama's entire time in office. He adds that Trump would call, they would discuss, and then the president would call again with follow-up questions; Manchin recalls joking that he should be the last person Trump talked to on a given topic, and Trump would laugh as they worked through issues together. In recounting the 2018 election cycle, Manchin says Trump told him he was under pressure to campaign against him but promised he wouldn’t. Trump visited West Virginia five times during that cycle, and Manchin still won reelection in a state that had delivered a sweeping Trump victory in the presidential race.
Manchin also describes an Oval Office moment that underscored the practical, sometimes informal nature of his bond with Trump. He recalls being summoned to the White House, where, in front of then-Vice President Mike Pence and Ivanka Trump, the president allegedly blurted to his other guests, "I told you we couldn't beat him," a candid remark that Manchin says reflected a results-oriented, if unconventional, working relationship. He notes that his ties with Obama had begun earlier, when Obama and Manchin collaborated on a coal-related deal in Illinois during Obama’s time in the Senate and Manchin’s tenure as West Virginia governor, a connection he says later soured as party directions diverged. Obama also reportedly declined an invitation to West Virginia during the 2008 campaign, after Manchin had invited both Obama and Hillary Clinton to the state; Manchin writes that Obama told him, "Let’s be honest with each other—my demographics don’t work well in your state." He writes that such moments helped shape his later view of the Democratic Party and its approach to voters in coal country.
Obama’s stance, Manchin contends, included a broader push for green initiatives and regulations targeting fossil fuels, which he says contributed to a growing estrangement with working-class voters in coal-dependent states like West Virginia. He describes what he views as a deliberate Democratic shift away from the concerns of rural and energy-reliant communities, arguing that the party’s pivot toward urban and coastal priorities left many in the states that powered the party’s 2008 victory feeling overlooked and undervalued. The memoir frames this perceived disconnect as a contributing factor to West Virginia’s political realignment away from Democrats in recent years.
Manchin argues that the party’s embrace of progressive priorities and a policy agenda that prioritized climate goals over traditional energy jobs helped drive rural voters toward the Republican column. He contends that the Democratic Party lost touch with the working class as it pursued its national platform, creating a gulf between party leadership and a broad swath of voters who felt their livelihoods were at stake amid energy policy debates.
The publisher and the article’s reporting note that Fox News Digital reached out to Obama’s office and the White House for comment but did not immediately hear back. Alex Miller, a Fox News Digital writer, framed the reporting within the broader context of Manchin’s career and political stance. Manchin, who has described himself as a centrist willing to cross party lines on energy and other issues, retired from the Senate last year after a long tenure that included a pivotal role in negotiations on climate and energy policy.
The memoir’s portrait of Trump as deeply engaged on legislative questions—someone who would repeatedly seek another perspective, then weigh it against a broad spectrum of inputs—offers a counterpoint to common partisan narratives about the former president. It also presents a personal lens on Obama’s time in office, particularly regarding the coal industry and the political dynamics that shaped West Virginia’s party alignment over the past two decades. Whether readers accept Manchin’s portrayal or view it through a partisan lens, the book adds a distinctive voice to the national discussion about how political leaders relate to working-class voters in a changing political landscape.
Manchin’s career—long-serving in a state that shifted from Democratic to Republican allegiance in the Trump era—adds a nuanced perspective to a debate that remains central in U.S. politics today. As the country continues to evaluate how parties connect with unionized and nonunionized workers, energy policy and regional economic reality remain at the heart of the discussion. The memoir’s emphasis on personal connections, cross-partisan dialogue, and the consequences of national policy on local economies contributes to the ongoing conversation about how national leadership should engage with diverse American communities.
The topic label for this coverage is US Politics, reflecting the broader implications of Manchin’s observations for party strategy, voter coalitions, and the political calculus of energy and economic policy in a highly polarized era.