Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin got into a shouting match Tuesday with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell when asked why he won’t say whether he would support President Joe Biden should he run for re-election.
The duo discussed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which Manchin threw his support behind despite criticism that the bill would have little to no impact on current inflation woes.
Mitchell switched gears slightly, referencing Manchin’s Sunday appearance on “Meet the Press,” during which the senator said he would only endorse candidates in the midterms on an individual basis.
“You said you would decide based on individual candidates I think,” Mitchell said. “Would you support Joe Biden if he’s on the ticket in 2024 as the Democratic President seeking re-election?”
“Let me make it very, very clear. This is the most- one of the most important pieces of legislation in my lifetime that we’ve ever done, to have energy security, to fight inflation, to help our geopolitical — ”
“And you’ve worked with a Democratic White House on it,” Mitchell said.
“That’s exactly — I’m working with them on it. I’m very appreciative, but for me to bring politics into it, oh, this is a Democrat bill, this is an anti- Republican bill, this is not. I’m not talking about the 2022 election and 2024. I have no control over those elections. And I’m not going to talk about them that will skew one of the greatest pieces of legislation, and I’m very appreciative that the president has seen it, he’s approved it, he supports it. God Bless him for that. It’s great for America. Can’t we do something for our country without having to bring politics into it? That’s all I want to talk about.”
“You’re a Democratic senator,” Mitchell said.
“I’m not going to talk about it,” Manchin shot back.
“Whether you’re going to support the leader of your own party — ” Mitchell cut in.
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“I’m supporting this bill, Andrea. It’s the American bill. It’s the red, white, and blue American bill. It’s the bill that we need to fight inflation, to have more energy to do the job we were sent here to do. Every time you talk about politics it gets people fired up. I’m not going to go down that path.”
“I’m not fired up, Senator. But I appreciate the work you’ve put in on the bill and we can talk about how much inflation it would bring down and whether or not it would actually raise taxes on the middle class, which some analysis say would happen because those corporations would pass on their tax increases to middle-class consumers.” (RELATED: Democrats Claim The ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ Won’t Raise Taxes. Here’s Why That’s Not True)
The pair then went on to discuss the bill, with Manchin defending the legislation, saying that only corporations would have their taxes raised and that the legislation would ease inflation.
Manchin has refused to endorse Biden’s re-election, recently telling Chris Cuomo he would have to “wait and see” who the party nominees are.
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, a budget reconciliation bill, will subsidize energy and healthcare costs for consumers, and allegedly lower the budget deficit. An analysis by the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Wharton Budget Model found despite the tax increases on corporations, the bill will only lower the deficit by $248 billion and fail to have any measurable impact on inflation.