WH Response to Manchin Decision on Build Back Better Is Pure Delusion – Opinion

Senator Joe Manchin, D-WV), is nice. He did his best not to flame Joe Biden, despite Joe Biden falsely claiming that they had an agreement on Build Back Better (BBB) on the numbers — saying that was Biden’s statement, not his. Manchin never claimed they reached an agreement. Manchin has always maintained that he was not present and had disagreements with it.

But the Biden team isn’t very bright. Manchin tried to make them polite, but they were not very bright. They decided to go further and lie more. In a statement, they claim that Manchin was lying and that they would pass the BBB, contrary to what Manchin claimed.

This is a delusion. Keep in mind that Manchin has been straight — right down the line — with his reservations on the bill. Saying what number he might accept, for example at one point he said he would go up to $1.5 trillion, doesn’t equal an agreement to the bill. That’s all that he’s ever said publicly; he’s never agreed to the bill. But here’s what the White House is saying, through a statement released by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.

.@PressSecOn MANCHIN: The fight to Build Back Better cannot be lost. Next year, we will be able to find a way forward. pic.twitter.com/6RShM7O44A

— Phil Mattingly (@Phil_Mattingly) December 19, 2021

Fox News

“Senator Manchin’s comments this morning on FOX are at odds with his discussions this week with the President, with White House staff, and with his own public utterances,” Psaki said, tweeting out a link to her official statement on Manchin. “Weeks ago, Senator Manchin committed to the President, at his home in Wilmington, to support the Build Back Better framework that the President then subsequently announced. Senator Manchin pledged repeatedly to negotiate on finalizing that framework ‘in good faith.’”

“If his comments on FOX and written statement indicate an end to that effort, they represent a sudden and inexplicable reversal in his position, and a breach of his commitments to the President and the Senator’s colleagues in the House and Senate,” she continued. “Just as Senator Manchin reversed his position on Build Back Better this morning, we will continue to press him to see if he will reverse his position yet again, to honor his prior commitments and be true to his word.”

Here’s a longer clip than the one I cited earlier where Manchin laid out all the problems with Build Back Better — particularly at this time with inflation. Watch Bret Baier’s eyes go up as he realizes he’s got very big news here.

“I’ve tried everything humanly possible… this is a no.”

HUGE.@Sen_JoeManchin announces he is a NO on Build Back Better—and the left needs to LISTEN to him lay out WHY: pic.twitter.com/bYMauaHMYX

— Lyndsey Fifield (@lyndseyfifield) December 19, 2021

Biden leaves out the very real CBO score, which refutes everything that they claim.

Manchin’s staff called the White House and let them know what he was going to say on Fox before he said it. Politico reports that the White House became concerned and tried to reach Manchin. “We tried to head him off,” a senior White House official told Playbook, but Manchin “refused to take a call from White House staff.”

I’m guessing again that, by then, Manchin was likely already prepping for the show and probably couldn’t take the call. Once again, this is questionable phrasing by the White House — “refused” isn’t the same as “couldn’t.” How do they know he “refused”? All they can say is he “didn’t.”

One senior Democratic aide texted Politico minutes after the White House statement came out with this assessment: “Whoever at the White House who thinks it’s a good idea to go scorched earth needs to be fired… He’s the president. He’s supposed to be the adult.” Except he isn’t.

Manchin is going to learn a lesson from this, if he didn’t understand it already: Biden is not to be trusted and doesn’t negotiate in good faith. If he feels it will help his cause, he’ll throw anybody under the bus. Biden is a man who will always take blame for any failure. It was almost sociopathic, as we saw during the Afghanistan crisis.

But this tactic by Biden — while trying to avoid blame for the failure — is the equivalent of blowing up his bridges behind him with Manchin. Biden needs Manchin for any future efforts, and now he’s publicly called him a liar. Manchin should never trust Manchin again, even though he was trying his best to keep Biden from being flaming.

It was noted that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY had invited Manchin to the Republican Party. At this point, the way Biden and some of the Democrats have been trying to stomp all over him, why shouldn’t he? Biden with his lying moved him to a firm “no” on the BBB. Now, with more lying, he may just move Manchin further — all the way out of the Democratic Party.