President Donald Trump tweeted his displeasure Friday over Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin’s guilty votes in his impeachment trial.
“I was very surprised & disappointed that Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia voted against me on the Democrat’s totally partisan Impeachment Hoax,” POTUS tweeted. “No President has done more for the great people of West Virginia than me.”
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 05: Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) speaks to the press near the Senate subway following a vote in the Senate impeachment trial that acquitted President Donald Trump of all charges on February 5, 2020 in Washington, DC. After the House impeached Trump last year, the Senate voted today to acquit the President on two articles of impeachment as the trial concludes. (Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)
“Every Republican Senator except [Mitt] Romney, many highly religious people, all very smart, voted against the Impeachment Hoax,” he continued. “[Sen. Shelley Moore Capito] was all in.”
Trump added that he “was told by many that Manchin was just a puppet for Schumer & Pelosi. That’s what he is!”
I was very surprised & disappointed that Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia voted against me on the Democrat’s totally partisan Impeachment Hoax. No President has done more for the great people of West Virginia than me (Pensions), and that will….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 14, 2020
….always continue. Every Republican Senator except Romney, many highly religious people, all very smart, voted against the Impeachment Hoax. @SenCapito was all in (a great person). I was told by many that Manchin was just a puppet for Schumer & Pelosi. That’s what he is!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 14, 2020
Manchin had been one of Trump’s lone allies among Senate Democrats. He was one of the few Democrats thought to possibly vote to acquit Trump until the final days of the trial when he announced his intent to convict. (RELATED: Sen. Manchin Discusses The One Big Takeaway He Had During Trump’s Legal Defense)
He told CNN that the president’s defense team did a “good job” during the trial and that their arguments made him “think about” how he should vote.
Manchin also previously worked with the White House on gun control. Trump had signaled he was open to expanding background checks, as spelled out in legislation proposed by Manchin and Republican Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey, but never followed through on the measure.