Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) raised the ire of some of his fellow Democrats when he appeared in a political ad for Congressman David McKinley (R-WV) and touted his own role in blocking President Joe Biden’s signature domestic agenda item, Build Back Better.
McKinley is set to face off with Congressman Alex Mooney (R-WV) after a new congressional map placed them both in the same district. Former President Donald Trump waded into the primary last November, backing Mooney after McKinley voted in favor of the bipartisan infrastructure package.
Trump also pointed out the fact that Mooney had voted against the January 6th commission — McKinley was one of the 35 House Republicans who voted in favor of investigating the Capitol riot — although he opposed the select committee.
Manchin entered the fray on Saturday with a video ad for McKinley.
“lol Joe Manchin brags about sinking Build Back Better in an ad he just cut for a Republican candidate for Congress,” reporter Jordan Zakarin tweeted along with video of the ad. “Democrats were never going to get this guy on board for any part of their agenda.”
lol Joe Manchin brags about sinking Build Back Better in an ad he just cut for a Republican candidate for Congress.
Democrats were never going to get this guy on board for any part of their agenda. pic.twitter.com/0ILc2pScCu
— Jordan Zakarin (@jordanzakarin) May 1, 2022
“I’ve always said if I can’t go home and explain it, I can’t vote for it,” Manchin said in the ad. “And that’s why I opposed Build Back Better. For Alex Mooney and his out-of-state supporters to suggest David McKinley supported Build Back Better is an outright lie.”
“David McKinley has always opposed reckless spending because it doesn’t make sense for West Virginia,” Manchin continued. “Alex Mooney had proven he’s all about Alex Mooney, but West Virginians know that David McKinley is all about us.”
Communications strategist Sawyer Hackett used the ad to argue that President Joe Biden should take executive action to go around Manchin, saying, “Joe Manchin bragging about killing the president’s agenda in an ad for a Republican. If this is where he is, Joe Biden has nothing to lose from legislating by executive action.”
CNN congressional reporter Manu Raju noted that the ad might not just be about saving McKinley’s seat, pointing out the fact that Mooney could possibly go on to challenge Manchin for his Senate seat in 2024.
“Manchin inserts himself into a GOP v. GOP House primary and cuts an ad for David McKinley who is facing Trump-backed Alex Mooney. Trump has gone after Rs like McKinley for backing infrastructure bill. Mooney is seen as a possible ‘24 challenger to Manchin,” he tweeted.
“At the end of the day, if Joe Manchin can cut ads for Republicans and spit in Joe Biden’s face without consequence, and Democrats will *still* handle Manchin with kid gloves, that’s a deeper problem within the party,” Democratic strategist Max Burns added.