Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) told Fox News anchor Bret Baier during an interview on Wednesday that politicians on both sides of the aisle caring more about their political parties than the country “scares the bejesus” out of him.
Manchin made the remarks after talking about how “harsh” and “toxic” members of Congress have gotten with each other in recent years, saying that they can’t even agree to disagree anymore.
“And … let me tell you what I don’t hear, what scares the bejesus out of me,” Manchin said. “I don’t hear people saying: This is good for our country. It’s more or less on both sides: This is better for my party. This is better for the 2022 election.”
WATCH:
TRANSCRIPT:
BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: One, you have — you have had people out your houseboat. You have had people following you around. You have had progressives protesting you.
SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): Yes.
BAIER: Cori Bush says: “Joe Manchin’s opposition to Build Back Better Act is anti-Black, anti-child, anti-woman, anti-immigrant. When we talk about transformative change, we are talking about a bill that will benefit Black, brown and indigenous communities.”
Your response to Congresswoman Bush?
MANCHIN: I would just say the congresswoman doesn’t know me. She doesn’t know me.
And I’m happy to talk to her. I think maybe she will have a different opinion. Go home to West Virginia and ask people, and I think you will get a different opinion.
And this is a shame when we start this war — war of words. I’m not going to speak ill about any of my congressional friends and colleagues on the House side or the Senate side.
We can have a difference of opinion. The rhetoric around here has gotten so harsh and so toxic that you can’t agree to disagree anymore. You can’t sit down and say, OK, I disagree with you, Bret. You’re going to say, OK, Joe, do we agree on the same problem? I said, yes. Let’s start working. Tell me what you think you would fix it. That’s not happening.
BAIER: So, progressives…
MANCHIN: And what — let me tell you what I don’t hear.
BAIER: Yes.
MANCHIN: What scares the bejesus out of me.
I don’t hear people saying: This is good for our country. It’s more or less on both sides: This is better for my party. This is better for the 2022 election.
BAIER: So, let me end where I started.
MANCHIN: Sure.
BAIER: Last night’s election.
MANCHIN: OK.
BAIER: The Congressional Progressive Caucus in the House now stands at 95 members.
Looking at last night and the results of it, what’s the over/under for 2022?
Are there more or fewer?
MANCHIN: Well, the progressives — the progressives — and I spoke to some of them, and they’re nice people, good people. They’re aspirational. I don’t believe philosophically with them at all.
But they don’t have any chance of being defeated where they come from. The thing they’re doing is basically changing the dynamics of the moderates that it takes for them to be in the majority, taking it down way low.
BAIER: I have asked you this seven times, but has your party left you?
MANCHIN: I’m a West Virginia Democrat, Bret.
I don’t know — I don’t know where maybe I belong at times. But I believe I’m fiscally responsible and socially compassionate. And you know what? I have a lot of Democrats that feel the same as I do. I have a lot of Republicans feel the same as I do.