Team Biden suffered yet another embarrassing blow on the domestic front over the weekend, this one being delivered by Senator Manchin of West Virginia, a persistent thorn in Biden’s side due to his refusal to back some of the worse Democrat ideas, particularly on the spending front.
This time, Manchin embarrassed Biden by saying, during an interview with ABC’s John Karl, that he couldn’t even rule out voting Republican in 2024, an election that Biden is seemingly planning on running in despite his advanced age and terrible year and a half as president.
That comment came when Karl, pressing him on his party loyalty, asked “Okay, so you won’t even — you can’t even rule out voting for a Republican for president?”
Manchin, not afraid to be controversial, said “Everybody’s worried about elections. That’s the problem. I’m not getting into the 2024 election. I’m not getting into the ‘22 election. That’s all.”
Had he wanted to, Manchin could have easily said that he didn’t plan on voting for his ostensible opponents. But he didn’t do so and instead tried to just avoid answering the question, a major bit of bad news for Democrats, particularly Biden.
That came just days after an interview in which Manchin refused to say whether he’d back Biden in 2024, saying:
“I’m not predicting anything or how I’ll support or not support […] but I can tell you this. Whoever the elected president is — Democrat, Republican, independent — everyone should pray they succeed. I’m gonna do everything I can to make that person successful.”
Manchin did, however, cheer a bill he recently pushed alongside Team Biden and other Democrats, The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, a bill that would create a minimum tax on companies earning a net income of $1 billion or more in an effort to decrease the national deficit. In his words:
“This type of legislation wouldn’t happen unless the President of the United States was involved — and he gave his blessing and signed off on it. I can assure you of that. And I appreciate that more than anyone knows because this has been tough.
“I’m not getting into 2022 or 2024. Whoever is my president, that’s my president. And Joe Biden is my president right now.”
Manchin also pushed back on the idea that his bill would increase inflation, saying
“We’re paying down $300 billion for debt — $300 billion we’re taking of this bill, paying it towards debt. First time in 25 years.”
The bill has, however, raised the eyebrows of skeptics on both the left and right. On the right, some claim that the policies within it will increase inflation. On the left, some argue that it doesn’t do enough to deal with climate change.
Manchin, however, has stood by the deal he and Chuck Schumer struck after weeks of negotiations and hasn’t been swayed by those attacks despite his previous opposition to bills that could increase inflation.
By: Gen Z Conservative, editor of GenZConservative.com. Follow me on Facebook and Subscribe to My Email List
This story syndicated with permission from Will, Author at Trending Politics
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