New York Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman blasted West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin during a CNN interview on Monday, lashing out at him as a “white man” who “doesn’t care” about black people.
“It’s tremendously frustrating for me as a black man in America,” Bowman told CNN, making the spending bill a race issue from his perspective.
“Because once again it’s an example of Joe Manchin — as a white man — showing that he doesn’t care about black people, he doesn’t care about Latinos, he doesn’t care about immigrants, he doesn’t care about women, and he doesn’t care about the poor,” Bowman added.
Bowman added that he believed Manchin’s concerns were driven by money rather than supporting people of color.
“It went from 3.5 trillion to 1.75 trillion [dollars] because of him, his special interests, his donors, and lobbyists were cutting the bill for several months, because they did not want this bill to pass,” Bowman said.
“Why? Because this bill disproportionately supports people of color. It supports women. It supports children. It supports those who are poor and lifts them out of poverty. Why wouldn’t Manchin want to support that when this would benefit West Virginia tremendously?” he asked.
Bowman also took to Twitter to target his fellow Democrat.
“Wow @Sen_JoeManchin, with all due respect, when you say you’re a no on Build Back Better – is it you? Or is it the special interest 💰💸 that powers you?” he tweeted.
“I’m inviting you to my district to see just how badly we need this bill. Will you tell my community ‘No’ to our face?” he added.
Wow @Sen_JoeManchin, with all due respect, when you say you’re a no on Build Back Better – is it you? Or is it the special interest 💰💸 that powers you?
I’m inviting you to my district to see just how badly we need this bill. Will you tell my community “No” to our face?
— Jamaal Bowman (@JamaalBowmanNY) December 19, 2021
Bowman was not alone in his criticisms of Manchin for choosing to oppose President Joe Biden’s massive Build Back Better spending bill. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki also gave a heated response. It read:
Just as Senator Manchin reversed his position on Build Back Better this morning, we will continue to press him to see if he will reverse his position yet again, to honor his prior commitments and be true to his word.
In the meantime, Senator Manchin will have to explain to those families paying $1,000 a month for insulin why they need to keep paying that, instead of $35 for that vital medicine. He will have to explain to the nearly two million women who would get the affordable day care they need to return to work why he opposes a plan to get them the help they need. Maybe Senator Manchin can explain to the millions of children who have been lifted out of poverty, in part due to the Child Tax Credit, why he wants to end a program that is helping achieve this milestone—we cannot.
Vermont Independent Bernie Sanders also attacked Manchin.
“If Joe Manchin does not have the guts to stand up to the powerful special interests, he’s going to have to explain that to the people of West Virginia who are hurting and hurting badly,” he argued.
If Joe Manchin does not have the guts to stand up to the powerful special interests, he’s going to have to explain that to the people of West Virginia who are hurting and hurting badly. pic.twitter.com/U5OeNlk6ea
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) December 19, 2021