Joe Biden in Crisis: Who Really Is President Right Now?

Another blow for Joe Biden: Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin dooms the legislative bill for social and climate reform.

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, 74, of West Virginia, has caused fellow Democrat and president, Joe Biden, problems from the outset. At the start of Biden’s term, he blocked the American Rescue Plan, the relief package designed to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and the economy, and the For the People Act, a voting reform bill. As a result, many are asking themselves who the real president of the U.S. is, Biden or Manchin.

Radio and talk show host Charlamagne tha God recently posed this question to Vice President Kamala Harris during an interview on Dec. 18. After an aide intervened, saying the interview was over and subsequently that Harris couldn’t hear the question, Harris suddenly responded in an outburst of anger, pointing her finger and responding that of course, Biden was the president.

Which Joe is President: Biden or Manchin?

Days later it became clear once again that it is indeed Manchin who is setting the tone in Washington these days. He announced, on Fox News of all cable news networks, that he would not vote for the Biden administration’s Build Back Better bill for social and climate reform, although he had “done everything humanly possible.” The bill’s total cost had already been reduced from $3.5 trillion to $1.75 trillion at Manchin’s insistence, but now he was rejecting it again for a final time. He blamed inflation, government debt, geopolitical unrest and the coronavirus pandemic. The package was, in short, just too expensive.

But the annual military budget of $768 billion that Manchin had just voted to approve was apparently not too expensive for him. No other country approves such high military expenditures. Build Back Better was supposed to support expansion of health care benefits, guarantee parents access to state-supported pre-K for their children and extend for several years the child tax credits that Americans first received during the pandemic, among other measures. Manchin insisted that he “cannot explain” the bill to the people in West Virginia.

Data and Facts Do Not Seem To Influence Manchin

That does not, however, align with reality, since according to a poll conducted by Data For Progress, 68% of West Virginia voters supported Build Back Better, including 56% of Republican voters. The southeastern state may have supported then-incumbent Donald Trump in the last presidential election by a margin of 68.6% to 29.7%, but the constituency there is not composed primarily of economic conservatives or neoliberals; on the contrary.

The cable network MSNBC polled voters in West Virginia and a loyal Trump voter said that many people who were suffering most from the consequences of the pandemic needed this legislation. But these data and facts did not seem to influence Manchin. Instead, Huffpost reported that the senator had told other Democrats during negotiations that he believed impoverished parents would spend the child tax credits on drugs rather than on their children.

Manchin Rallies the Democrats against Him

Build Back Better is not only receiving support in West Virginia. Approximately two-thirds of those polled in the rest of the country supported the bill. By rejecting desperately needed social and climate policy measures, Manchin has rallied his own party against himself.

Whereas Republicans are praising him for how supposedly rational he is, moderate Democratic colleagues, the White House and especially progressive Democrats are raining expressions of criticism, disappointment and bewilderment upon him. Left-leaning Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar tweeted, “This has nothing to do with his constituents. This is about the corruption and self-interest of a coal baron.”

Biden and Progressive Representatives Appear Naive and Weak

Manchin’s power play is making Biden and a cohort of 96 progressive Democrats in the House of Representatives appear either weak or naïve. Originally, Biden and Congress agreed to pass a large infrastructure package. To work around the opposition of Republicans and conservative Democrats like Manchin, the legislation was divided into two parts: the economically oriented infrastructure legislation, which includes large-scale contracts for construction and privatization, and the social and climate policies in Build Back Better, which was intended to benefit the people and accelerate the move to clean energy.

The initial plan was to pass both pieces of legislation in tandem, but the Democratic leadership insisted that the infrastructure legislation, which also received Republican support, be voted on separately. Six progressive representatives, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, voted against it, because they did not trust conservative Democrats like Manchin to keep their word and vote in return for Build Back Better. But even with their no votes they could not prevent the infrastructure package from passing in early November.

Leftist Democrats Saw the Manchin Debacle Coming

Build Back Better was supposed to come next, as Biden had personally promised the progressive wing of the Democrats. The House of Representatives passed the bill a month ago, but in the Senate, the Democrats depend on Manchin’s vote because of their razor-thin majority. Biden said that Manchin had given him his word; so, Manchin either duped Biden, or Biden duped the progressives. Neither is conducive to intraparty unity, and has left mistrust in its wake. This is precisely the opposite of what Biden campaigned on during his run for president – that with almost 50 years of experience on Capitol Hill, he knew how to get things done in Washington.

But apparently the six young progressives, who have been in Congress for just three or in some cases only one year, had clearer vision and correctly assessed Manchin. Left-wing media also saw the Manchin debacle coming; it did not really come out of nowhere, as many are now suggesting. Democratic voters are becoming increasingly frustrated that their party is not fulfilling its campaign promises, even though it controls the Senate and the House of Representatives, in addition to the White House. This is apparent in recent polls that show an extremely low approval rating for the party.

Biden Needs To Pressure Manchin

Biden cannot afford for his social agenda to be at the mercy of a conservative Democratic senator who obviously is not representing the interests of his state. West Virginia is the second poorest of all 50 states, with a poverty rate of 17.5%. Life expectancy there is also the second worst in the country at an average of just 74.8 years. Manchin’s state would have profited more than many others from Build Back Better.

What options does Biden now have to make his social agenda a reality? He has to put political pressure on Manchin. The multimillionaire whose campaign donors include the coal, finance and pharmaceutical industries certainly has his vulnerable spots. Left-wing Sen. Bernie Sanders from Vermont and Harris have figured that out. In October, Sanders published a commentary in a West Virginia newspaper in which he presented the desperate need for Build Back Better and simultaneously stated that his colleague Manchin was against the bill.

At the beginning of the year, Harris, who herself is dealing with low approval ratings, gave an interview to a radio station in West Virginia about the COVID-19 relief and infrastructure legislation, something which Manchin also criticized. The statements by Sanders and Harris provoked an immediate response from Manchin, who accused them of not being collegial or cooperative. Given that his reelection obviously seems important to him, Manchin might be persuaded if Biden picked up where Sanders and Harris left off.

A Problem for Joe Biden: 2022 Midterm Elections Are Looming

Alternatively, Biden could try to win a vote from among the Republican senators, although that is unlikely to be successful. But Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that a vote on the legislation would take place in January and that they would continue to work on Biden’s agenda “until we pass a bill.”

Time is of the essence. Biden can still point to Manchin as a source of problems. But by the midterm elections in November 2022, the current situation will be long forgotten, and all eyes will be on Biden, who, despite having the necessary majorities, will not have fulfilled his campaign promises.