“The View” co-host Joy Behar criticized Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona Wednesday for not fully supporting the party’s attempts to implement the $3.5 trillion Build Back Better Act.
“Manchin and Sinema must be brought to task. They are the enemies right now of the democracy, as you pointed out before,” Behar told her co-hosts as they discussed President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion spending package. “We have a great democracy, but it is really on life support right now because of these two people.”
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Behar argued earlier in the segment that Biden had the potential to be the “next Lyndon Johnson with the Great Society programs.” She claimed it was in the Democrats’ power to fix infrastructure throughout the nation, pour funds into social programs such as child care, expand Medicare, and pass “large-scale climate change policy,” among other things. (RELATED: Omar Calls Manchin And Sinema ‘Republicans’ Amid Reconciliation Showdown)
“And the Democrats have the numbers to make it happen,” Behar asserted. “But Manchin and Sinema are standing in their way. They call themselves Democrats, and they will be the ruination of this nation.”
Behar claimed that Manchin’s refusal to support massive spending on climate change stemmed from profits he makes from coal production. She also pointed out that Sinema had recently attended a fundraiser whose organizers strongly disapproved of Biden’s planned expenditures and tax raises.
“These people are destroying the country in my opinion,” Behar continued. “We are so in trouble in this country. I don’t know if people understand how dire the situation is. If Joe Biden loses, if the Democrats lose, the Republicans, who are so corrupt right now, and we all know that, they will move in. Trump will run in 2024, he might win because of all the cheating that’s going on. We cannot let this happen.”
Both Manchin and Sinema have expressed concern about the Build Back Better Act, namely its overall price tag and certain provisions within the package, such as a carbon tax and subscription drug pricing mechanism.