The VW gov is a Democrat so he will not appoint a Republican. In fact, he'll probably get pressure from the DNC and Schumer to appoint someone worse than Manchin knowing it'll be temporary.
And Manchin is not some Republican in waiting. He's a Dem that happens to like guns but knows that if he didn't start to distance himself from Reid & Co. he'd get bounced next cycle.
For crying out loud, not every move Trump makes is some stroke of genius with an intelligent backdrop that has some clandestine ending to advance the party. His putting up that Munchkin guy and giving a kick back to McConnell with his wife are proof that sometimes he's playing politics. Pure and simple.
Independent thought, try it.
I don’t understand where people are getting the idea that he would be replaced in the senate by a Republican....