Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) took a victory lap on Sunday on the heels of his surprise deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer last week, explaining just why he agreed to it: he was tired of getting yelled at.
âI didnât want to go through the drama that eight months ago... we went through for so long,â Manchin told Chuck Todd on Meet The Press, one of five Sunday TV appearances he made on his explanation-turned-adulation tour. Manchin was referring to his public tanking of Build Back Better, President Joe Bidenâs once-marquee domestic bill.
It was that tanking that made Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, wary of working with Manchin again. âHere we go again,â Manchin recalled Schumer saying when, at one point in negotiations, Manchin said he brought up waiting for Julyâs inflation numbers.
It was also partly why he didnât include Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) in the talks, he said. Sinema said after the deal came out that she would review the bill, but she has not yet released any public statement of support.
âI didnât want to bring anybody into the fold that said, âThis thing might fall apart. Hereâs [Manchin]. Heâs going down the road again and weâre not getting there,ââ Manchin told Fox News Sunday. ââI couldnât get there. I didnât know we were going to get there until it came to fruition.â
Even still, Democrats have balked at Manchinâs close relationship with Schumer. Sen. Bernie Sanders derided the secrecy of the deal, according to ABCâs Jonathan Karl, sarcastically saying he wasnât aware Manchin was the majority leader.
âI understand the frustration and the reason for that,â Manchin told Karl on This Week. âI didnât know if we could get a deal, I didnât know if we could come to an agreement. Why would I put people through... all this drama? Iâve been through this for eight monthsâI tried, I kept trying. I couldnât get to where they wanted to go to in my caucus.â
But still, Manchin said he thinks that all that posturingâand public condemnations from the partyâs progressive wing, who have only mildly come around to the slimmed-down domestic packageâhas finally produced a good result, and one with the presidentâs backing.
âI donât look at it as politics,â Manchin said on State of the Union. âI donât look at it as a democratic responsibility because I have a âDâ by my name, and I donât look at my Republican colleagues as enemies. Those are my friends. Weâre all Americansâcanât we put our country first? Thatâs what Iâve always said. Iâm not going to make deals and negotiations, and Iâm not going to vote because it helps one party over the other party or good for the next election. This is good for America. This is what this is all about, and thatâs what I care about.â