Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) blasted his colleague Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) on Sunday, accusing the centrist Democrat of “sabotaging” President Joe Biden’s agenda.
The harsh comments came on ABC News’s This Week, days after Manchin’s reported reversal on tax and climate policies Democrats hoped to pass.
“He has sabotaged the president’s agenda,” Sanders said of Manchin. “The problem was we continued to talk to Manchin like he was serious,” he added later.
Manchin informed Democratic leadership on Thursday that he would not support tax increases on the wealthy or new clean energy spending as part of an economic agenda Democrats hoped to consider this summer, according to the Washington Post.
Manchin said in a radio interview that it was “not prudent” to pass a significant spending bill as inflation is “wreaking havoc” on people across the United States, per the Guardian. “Inflation is absolutely killing many, many people. They can’t buy gasoline. They have a hard time buying groceries. Everything they buy and consume for their daily lives is a hardship to them,” Manchin said in a clip aired by host Martha Raddatz.
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Sanders, who chastised Manchin late last year for his opposition to Biden’s Build Back Better plan, lamented how the senator from West Virginia has continued to be a thorn in the side of Democrats hoping to pass more ambitious policies.
“Same nonsense that Manchin has been talking about for a year,” Sanders said about Manchin’s comments regarding inflation. He added later, “In my humble opinion, you know, Manchin represents the very wealthiest people in this country, not working families in West Virginia or America.”
