Manchin blasts Biden as he ramps up rumors of possible third party run
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) this week proudly praised the Inflation Reduction Act – which he helped write –and its impact on the manufacture of electric vehicles, then blasted President Joe Biden for working to ensure EV chargers are available to more Americans across the county. He then teased out a possible third-party presidential run.
"I enjoyed seeing the latest cars & trucks at the DC Auto Show," declared Manchin, who is traveling the country on a nationwide "listening" tour and on Wednesday "teased a potential third-party presidential bid" to challenge President Biden. "I'm especially proud that, thanks to the #InflationReductionAct, many new EVs will be fully assembled in North America and have battery components and minerals sourced from the US & reliable partners."
Manchin was a huge road block to Biden's "Build Back Better" bill, which ultimately morphed into the Inflation Reduction Act, legislation the West Virginia Democratic senator helped craft after opposing the President's signature legislation. In addition to successfully helping reduce inflation, the Inflation Reduction Act reduces the federal deficit, lowers prescription drug prices, increases domestic energy production. It is also "driving investment in clean energy," according to an October Goldman Sachs report.
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Manchin, who is not running for reelection, has been ranked as one of the most vulnerable Senators. He’s also ranked as “one of the most unpopular.”
As Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Manchin in 2022 earned nearly a half-million dollars from his family's coal business. A new report last week at The American Prospect revealed his top Senate staffers are "heading for the exits, wooed by a familiar landing spot: the oil and gas industry." Manchin's "longtime press aide’s move to ExxonMobil is the latest in a long line of revolving-door spinners."
While supporting the manufacture of electric vehicles and praising his own legislation for ensuring more EVs are assembled in North America and from U.S. parts, Manchin appeared angered that once the automobiles are sold, his own constituents would be among those eligible to receive tax credits for EV chargers.
Manchin in a statement Tuesday slammed President Biden's policy on who can qualify for an electric vehicle charger tax credit, claiming it “spits in the face of rural America,” according to The Hill.
"The Biden administration released guidance last week that offers a broad definition of nonurban — including any census tract where at least 10 percent of blocks have not been designated as urban areas," The Hill reports. "Ultimately, the tax credit will be available to about two-thirds of Americans, according to the White House."
Manchin also called it "just another example in a long line of this Administration’s attempts to force electric vehicles on Americans and spend money that Congress didn’t account for and doesn’t have in the budget."
As for his potential third-party bid, Manchin on Tuesday told reporters, "Super Tuesday pretty much confirms whatever is going to happen, what we believe will happen, and we'll see where we go from there," Fox News reported. "But people are looking for options, and we're going to be looking at that, too. Whether it's me or whoever it may be, I think there's going to be options available if it goes down the way it's going down."
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Donald Trump, Marco Rubio (Photo by Jim Watson for AFP)