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Joe Manchin Blasts Joe Biden Days Before Midterm: 'Divorced From Reality'

Manchin And Biden Always Had 'Friendly Relationship': 'It's Never Personal'

BY FATMA KHALED ON 11/5/22 

Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, criticized President Joe Biden over his comments about closing coal plants across the country, calling them "divorced from reality" just a few days before the midterm elections.

During a speech in California on Friday, the president said that coal plants cost too much money and that his administration will "be shutting these plants down all across America" and have "wind and solar" energy instead.

"No one is building new coal plants because they can't rely on it, even if they have all the coal guaranteed for the rest of their existence of the plant," the president added. "So it's going to become a wind generation."

Manchin, whose state is one of the largest coal producers in the country, blasted the president in a statement on his website on Saturday.

Above, Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, is seen on September 22 in Washington, D.C. Manchin criticized President Joe Biden over his comments about closing coal plants across the country, calling them "divorced from reality" just a few days before the midterm elections.PHOTO BY KEVIN DIETSCH/GETTY IMAGES

"President Biden's comments are not only outrageous and divorced from reality, they ignore the severe economic pain the American people are feeling because of rising energy costs," Manchin said. "Comments like these are the reason the American people are losing trust in President Biden and instead believes he does not understand the need to have an all in energy policy that would keep our nation totally energy independent and secure."


The senator's remarks come during a busy weekend for Biden and Democrats who are trying to gain support from voters for Tuesday's midterm elections. Biden is rallying in Pennsylvania on Saturday and Florida on Sunday while Vice President Kamala Harris is set to make a stop in Illinois on Sunday.

"It seems his positions change depending on the audience and the politics of the day. Politicizing our nation's energy policies would only bring higher prices and more pain for the American people," Manchin said in his statement.

The West Virginia senator also said that Biden "never" mentioned shutting down coal plants to him and added that "being cavalier about the loss of coal jobs for men and women in West Virginia and across the country who literally put their lives on the line to help build and power this country is offensive and disgusting."

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Manchin concluded his statement by saying that Biden owes workers at coal plants an "immediate and public" apology, and that the president should learn that his words have consequences.

During a podcast in July, the senator said that even though he thinks Biden is "a good person," he disagrees with the president over his "lack" of energy policy and his handling of record-high inflation.

Meanwhile, Manchin said in July during a podcast that even though he thinks Biden is "a good person," he disagrees with the president over his "lack" of energy policy and his handling of record-high inflation.

Manchin has been repeatedly criticized by members of his own party for not supporting some of the issues on his party's agenda such as the rules of the filibuster, which Democrats want to change so that Republicans can't use it to block Democratic bills in an evenly divided Senate.