Politicians should “calm down” and stop approaching one another in “attack mode” amid the US’s climate of political violence, former US senator Joe Manchin said on Sunday.

The West Virginia independent who generally caucused with Senate Democrats echoed similar comments made at a town hall Saturday by Erika Kirk, the widow of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot to death in September.

“We’ve got to calm down a little bit,” Manchin said on WABC 770 AM’s Cats Roundtable. “We’ve just got to calm it down. Everyone should want your elected leaders to do well and you don’t have to be scathing against him and saying: ‘I hate this person, hate that person.’ Just say: ‘Listen, I disagree. I wish they would consider something else.’”

He said that too many lawmakers remain “in attack mode”, adding: “You are not the enemy. And the American people aren’t stupid.”

Manchin had long been a Democrat but left the party in 2024 to register as an independent – shortly before retiring from the Senate after 15 years in office.

A wealthy coal industry executive, Manchin argued that the party had grown intolerant and heavy-handed toward ordinary citizens, placing the blame on progressive activists.

In his Sunday remarks, Manchin urged both Democrats and Republicans to free themselves from the influence of the “far left” and “far right” and focus instead on forming a “sensible majority” capable of advancing policy.

“I’m fiscally responsible and socially compassionate,” Manchin said. “I think most Democrats and Republicans feel that way. They might have different ideas of how to solve the problem, but they all are Americans. They feel strongly about our country.”

Manchin’s comments illustrated how members of both political parties have recently called for a reduction in heated political discourse, particularly following Charlie Kirk’s killing in Utah on 10 September.

Authorities who investigated Kirk’s killing allege that the man charged with murdering the Turning Point USA co-founder did so after becoming sick of what he perceived to be Kirk’s “hatred”.

On Saturday, during a town hall hosted by CBS, Erika Kirk said that “everyone has a responsibility” to tone things down.

“I’m doing my part,” Kirk said in response to a question from an audience member. “I’m not in control of other people.”

The question came from Utah Valley University student Hunter Kozak, who had asked Charlie Kirk about political violence moments before Kirk was fatally shot.

Kozak referenced tensions around political extremism and mentioned Donald Trump’s recent comments accusing six Democratic lawmakers of treason for telling US military members to resist unlawful commands. On Truth Social, the president accused the lawmakers of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR” that was “punishable by DEATH!”

“Will you condemn the violent rhetoric of Donald Trump, the most powerful and influential person on Earth?” Kozak asked.

Kirk replied that the problem was “so much more deeper than just one person”.

Rand Paul, a Republican senator from Kentucky, also warned on Sunday of a potential rise in political violence spurred by the recent bipartisan push to draw new redistricting maps meant to favor their parties.

“I think that it’s going to lead to more civil tension and possibly more violence in our country,” he said on NBC News’s Meet the Press, saying the move is a “mistake” by both parties to boost their prospects in the 2026 midterm elections.

“I think there is the potential that when people have no representation, that they feel disenfranchised, that it can lead and might lead to violence in our country,” he added.

Sunday’s commentary came after Trump survived two assassination attempts while successfully running for a second presidency in 2024. Then, in the months before Kirk’s killing, there was the firebombing of the official residence of Pennsylvania’s governor, Josh Shapiro, as well as the fatal shooting of the former Minnesota state house speaker Melissa Hortman.

Shapiro is a Democrat like Hortman was.