Peter King: Manchin may have just saved the country and Democrat Party
Former Rep. Peter King applauds Sen. Joe Manchin for standing up to Democrats' 'peer pressure' and rejecting President Biden's Bill Back Better bill.
Former New York Republican Congressman Pete King praised his former colleague, Sen. Joe Manchin, Monday, after the West Virginia Democrat declared on Fox News that he would not support President Biden's socioeconomic overhaul bill dubbed "Build Back Better."
King, of Nassau County, in turn, ripped Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., for her vulgar public attack on Manchin, in which she used expletives to describe the Mountain State lawmaker's reservations about the legislation.
"Joe Manchin not only saved the country but may have saved the Democratic Party," King said Monday on "The Story."
"This gives the Democrats the opportunity to retreat gracefully. Maybe they can blame it on Joe Manchin, but that bill was a disaster economically. And as Joe Manchin said, besides the money involved, it was going to restructure American society; restructure our economy. To do that in a giant bill like this was irresponsible."
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a key moderate in the infrastructure agreement, arrives at the Senate in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
King called Manchin a "great guy to work with" across the aisle, and remarked of the onetime governor, "what he says is what he does."
"I was in politics a long time. For Joe Manchin to stand up to the entire Democratic Party the way he did -- these are the men and women he works with every day… there's a lot of peer pressure, and I’m sure there are contributors and special interests calling him. For him to stand tall is a party of one. I give him credit."
On Sunday, Omar joined the chorus of left-wing Democrats slamming Manchin, 74, during an appearance on MSNBC:
"We all knew that senator Manchin couldn’t be trusted," the Minneapolis lawmaker claimed. "You know, the excuses that he just made, I think, are complete bull----."
King replied on Fox News that Manchin is tough enough to put up with obscene attacks, telling host Martha MacCallum that any time the Minnesota congresswoman criticizes someone or something, it's best to be on the opposing side anyway:
"Any time you can be criticized by Omar, that shows that you’re right," King said.
"I have no respect for her, no regard for her at all. She’s on the extreme left wing of the party [and] the anti-Israel wing of the Democratic Party. I have no use for her."
"The fact that she’s attacking Joe Manchin so strongly to me proves more than ever that Joe Manchin is right. You ask me who I stand with? Joe Manchin or Omar? I wouldn’t go near Omar. I’m with Joe Manchin," he continued.
CENTRAL ISLIP, NY - APRIL 28: Long Island Congressman Peter King (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
King later added that some of the aggressive qualities of the White House's initial pointed response to Manchin's decision not to support Biden's plan were due to the shortcomings of some of the junior staff.
"I think some of the young people in the Biden administration, these staff people, thought they could outsmart [Manchin]," he said.
"You don’t pressure Joe Manchin. He’s a tough guy," he added, further calling White House Press Secretary Jennifer Psaki's verbose response to the news "totally out of line."
King also said earlier Monday that Manchin would make for a "terrific" presidential candidate.
Other far-left Manchin detractors included Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernard Sanders of Vermont, as well as King's fellow New Yorker, Rep. Mondaire Jones of Nyack, who called Manchin "a tour de force in gaslighting and dishonesty."
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