On Friday’s “CNN News Central,” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) stated that “the Democrats let” the crisis at the border happen and urged President Joe Biden to declare a national emergency on the border if Congress can’t pass legislation to fix the problem.

Manchin said, “It’s the most dangerous thing we have, is the border security right now and a lapse of border security. So, we can fix that. But when you have former President Trump saying, oh, no, we can’t do that, because let’s just go ahead and blame the Democrats. Well, the Democrats let this happen. But it’s time to fix it. So, we can fix this working together. But not to fix it because of politics, it’s not who we are as a country. It’s not what our purpose in Washington is all about.”

He concluded, “The crisis at the border is an absolute, total crisis, and it’s dangerous. And we can fix it. And if not, I would ask the President, please, Mr. President declare a national emergency. Don’t let the politics destroy, basically, the border situation and security that we need at that border, and I would hope he would do that.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett