Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 01:51 pm
Joe Biden called out Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema for electing themselves president without mentioning their names.
Biden said while speaking at a fundraiser in Portland, OR:
.@POTUS says anyone in the Senate can declare themselves president, and two Democrats have (that's a reference to @Sen_JoeManchin and @SenatorSinema)
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— Jeff Mason (@jeffmason1) April 21, 2022
.@JoeBiden tells a fundraiser in Portland he thinks Democrats can pick up two Senate seats in the midterm elections.
— Jeff Mason (@jeffmason1) April 21, 2022
It was not a coincidence that Biden expressed the belief that Democrats could pick up two Senate seats after mentioning Manchin and Sinema. A two-seat pick-up for Democrats would end the presidencies of Manchin and Sinema and allow Democrats to kill the filibuster, which they should do even if Republicans win the House.
Biden is correct. The only reasons why Build Back Back Better and voting rights legislation have not passed are named Manchin and Sinema. Right now, Democrats are one defection to the Republican side away from losing the Senate majority, so given that context, it makes perfect sense why Biden didn’t name names.
President Biden has not forgotten what Manchin and Sinema have done, and one suspects that if Democrats gain seats in the Senate, no one will be crying over the fact that the party no longer has to deal with self-elected presidents Manchin and Sinema.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
