What former Sen. Joe Manchin wrote about Democratic leadership in his new book hardly comes as a surprise to those who follow politics, given the West Virginia senator was always the thorn in Democrats’ side—and even more so once he decided to leave the party and become an independent. But it’s nonetheless going to be amusing to watch the fallout of what Punchbowl describes as Manchin’s “revenge tour—against Dems.”
In his book titled “Dead Center: In Defense of Common Sense,” which is out Tuesday, the former senator takes aim at Democratic presidents and Democratic leadership, accusing them of seeking power at all costs.
“I don’t say this lightly, but under the leadership of President Obama and Majority Leader Harry Reid, and later President Biden and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrats have systematically tried to weaken the very guardrails that have protected our democracy for generations — all in the name of advancing their agenda,” Manchin wrote, adding that he was pushing for the GOP to win the Senate majority in 2024.
"Because of what I knew — and what I had seen firsthand — I wanted Republicans to win the Senate majority in 2024," Manchin wrote. "I believed it was the only hope for preserving the Senate as an institution. I truly believed that, if in power, Republicans would uphold the filibuster, the last guardrail preventing total partisan rule."
At another point in the book, he revealed how Biden threatened him during negotiations over the American Rescue Plan.
"As the drama began, I got a call from the president, and was he hot," Manchin said. "'If you kill this f— bill, I will never speak to you again,’ he promised. Anyone who knows Joe Biden — and I have known him for a very long time —knows he’s got a very bad temper. He calls it his ‘Irish.’ I call it unfortunate. But if he was going there, so was I."
Manchin told Biden his actions were "reckless," adding, "You’re sending a f— check to everyone. And if you missed anyone, it was only by mistake."
The former senator also called out the Democratic Party’s embrace of wokeness.
“When the party pushes hard on woke ideology, DEI mandates, and other social agendas, it creates unnecessary divisions, alienates everyday citizens, and moves us further away from the commonsense middle ground where most Americans actually live their lives,” Manchin said.
And though he ultimately only switched his party affiliation to independent, he suggested he should've become a Republican in 2016 when Trump won but didn't want Republicans to think he'd side with them any more than Democrats did.
"I never thought that for my political life or livelihood I should change my party affiliation, which is what I should have done if I was focused on what was politically advantageous," he said. "Instead, I just kept thinking that I would continue to be so independent that the Republicans wouldn’t like me any more than the Democrats."