In the wake of West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin’s announcement on Fox News Sunday that he would oppose the Biden Administration’s Build Back Better bill, the evening newscasts on Monday night spent a significant amount of time covering the big setback for the Biden agenda and piling on Manchin to make him pay.
ABC’s World News Tonight led off the segment with reporting by chief White House correspondent Cecilia Vega touting a phone call between Manchin and Biden, which reportedly happened “just hours after Manchin declared that he's a no on a key piece of the President's domestic agenda.”
The ABC segment was the worst of the three networks, which hyped both White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki’s “blistering statement” excoriating Manchin, as well as highlighting a report from the Washington Post in which Manchin allegedly “agreed to White House priorities like 'Universal Pre-K', fighting climate change and expanding the Affordable Care Act, but he would not budge on extending the child tax credit, which aims to reduce child poverty and is set to expire this month.”
In addition, ABC claims to have sources that say “Manchin questioned whether parents would use that money to buy drugs. Sources say he also said Americans, including his own West Virginia constituents, could exploit paid family leave to go hunting during deer season.”
Over on NBC Nightly News, NBC Capitol Hill Correspondent Garrett Haake hyped Biden’s “dual nightmare before Christmas. A new COVID surge gripping the country. And his domestic agenda now derailed by a Democrat. Today Senator Joe Manchin firing back after fellow Democrats and the White House blasted his announcement that he won't back the President's massive $1.7 trillion social spending and climate bill.”
In a radical departure from their past coverage during the congressional debates over the Build Back Better legislation in which all three networks spent a combined three minutes and three seconds on the incident, NBC decided to show B-roll coverage of Manchin being accosted by radical leftist protesters who wanted the West Virginia Democrat to vote for the legislation:
HAAKE: Manchin has said the bill spends too much money too freely including on a paid family leave program he opposes and on child tax credit direct payments. And Manchin suggesting the pressure tactics he's faced from some activists during negotiations, including surrounding his houseboat and blocking his car backfired.
MANCHIN: I'm from West Virginia. I'm not from where they're from, and they can just beat the living crap out of people and think they’ll be submissive.
HAAKE: Leaving Progressives fuming.
OCASIO-CORTEZ: Well, I think what Senator Manchin did yesterday represents such an egregious breach of the trust of the President.
HAAKE: And Republicans who uniformly oppose the bill celebrating.
REP. KAT CAMMACK: We have absolutely seen Christmas come early this year. Shout-out to Joe Manchin for doing the right thing.
CBS Evening News, anchored by fill-in host Margaret Brennan also used B-roll of Manchin being harassed by protesters, with footage of them swarming around him while trying to relax on his houseboat. CBS Political Correspondent Ed O’Keefe seemed to suggest that they were merely trying to pressure Manchin shortly before playing clips of Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY) ripping into Manchin on television for daring to defy their wishes.
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To read the transcripts click “expand”:
ABC's World News Tonight
12/20/21
6:43:38PMDAVID MUIR: Now, to Washington, and there is news coming in tonight that President Biden has talked with Senator Joe Manchin after that reveal that caught the White House by surprise when Manchin went on cable on Sunday morning and said he was a no on the President's nearly $2 trillion Build Back Better bill. Tonight, what the President and the Senator are now signaling. And here's our Chief White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega.
CECILIA VEGA: Tonight, ABC News has learned of a phone call between President Biden and West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin. That call happening just hours after Manchin declared that he's a no on a key piece of the President's domestic agenda. Today, the White House declaring the Build Back Better plan is not dead.
JEN PSAKI (WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY): We're ready to move forward and get this done and work like hell to do that.
VEGA: But the reality, the White House was blindsided by Manchin's announcement on Fox News.
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: I've tried everything humanly possible. I can't get there.
BRET BAIER: You're done? This is -- this is a no?
MANCHIN: This is a no on this legislation.
VEGA: Press Secretary Jen Psaki in a blistering statement calling it a "sudden and inexplicable reversal" and "a breach" of Manchin's "commitments to the President."
MANCHIN: and they can just beat the living crap out of people and think they'll be submissive. Period. I understand that this is not the President. This is staff, and they drove some things and they put some things out that were absolutely inexcusable.
VEGA: Tonight, "The Washington Post" reports Manchin had agreed to White House priorities like “Universal Pre-K”, fighting climate change and expanding the Affordable Care Act, but he would not budge on extending the child tax credit, which aims to reduce child poverty and is set to expire this month. Sources tell ABC News that during private conversations on Capitol Hill, Manchin questioned whether parents would use that money to buy drugs. Sources say he also said Americans, including his own West Virginia constituents, could exploit paid family leave to go hunting during deer season. The Senator's office not denying the comments, saying he supports the child tax credit but believes the money should be targeted to those who need it most. They say he also supports family leave as long as it has a "dedicated, sustainable funding mechanism." Today, the White House insisting, there is still room for compromise.
PSAKI: They share fundamental values, they're longtime friends, that has not changed.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Does the President feel betrayed by his friend?
PSAKI: Again, the President sees Senator Manchin as somebody who is a longtime friend, somebody who has worked well together on and our objective, and our focus now is moving forward.
VEGA: Well, now in Washington, there are a lot of ideas about where this goes from here, including splitting this massive piece of legislation into smaller bills or perhaps funding fewer priorities for longer periods of time. David, the bottom line is, Democrats tonight are livid with Joe Manchin and this key piece of the President’s agenda is right now, hanging in the balance.
MUIR: Cecilia Vega live at the White House. Cecilia, thank you.
NBC Nightly News
12/20/2021
7:07:55PMLESTER HOLT: President Biden will address the COVID crisis in a speech tomorrow as he faces growing scrutiny over his response to COVID and the apparent collapse of his domestic agenda at the hands of a fellow Democrat. Our Garrett Haake has late details.
GARRETT HAAKE: Tonight President Biden facing a dual nightmare before Christmas. A new covid surge gripping the country. And his domestic agenda now derailed by a Democrat. Today Senator Joe Manchin firing back after fellow Democrats and the White House blasted his announcement that he won't back the President's massive $1.7 trillion social spending and climate bill.
JOE MANCHIN: I want social reforms to the point that has responsibility and accountability.
HAAKE: Manchin has said the bill spends too much money too freely including on a paid family leave program he opposes and on child tax credit direct payments. And Manchin suggesting the pressure tactics he's faced from some activists during negotiations, including surrounding his houseboat and blocking his car backfired.
MANCHIN: I'm from West Virginia. I'm not from where they're from, and they can just beat the living crap out of people and think they’ll be submissive.
HAAKE: Leaving Progressives fuming.
AOC: Well, I think what Senator Manchin did yesterday represents such an egregious breach of the trust of the President.
HAAKE: And Republicans who uniformly oppose the bill celebrating.
REP. KAT CAMMACK: We have absolutely seen Christmas come early this year. Shout-out to Joe Manchin for doing the right thing.
HAAKE: That blow to the President’s agenda just a day before his critical speech on the COVID surge, where he's expected to lay out a dire warning to the unvaccinated and increase access to testing. But now with more Americans dead of COVID this year than in 2020, the President's COVID response facing scrutiny. Just a few months after he tauted big progress.
BIDEN: We're closer than ever to declaring our Independence from a deadly virus.
HAAKE: President Biden and Manchin spoke on Sunday night in what two sources describe as a cordial call. They plan to speak again soon. Lester?
HOLT: Garrett Haake near the Capitol tonight. Thank you
CBS Evening News
12/20/2021
6:37:11PMMARGARET BRENNAN: The signature piece of President Biden's legislative agenda the sweeping $2 trillion spending bill is now on life support. He does not have enough votes from Senate Democrats to pass it and, tonight, his own party is playing the blame game. We get the latest from CBS's Ed O’Keeffe at the White House.
ED O’KEEFFE: The White House tonight refusing to give up on the President's top legislative priority.
JEN PSAKI: We are going to continue to take steps, work like hell to get it done.
O’KEEFFE: After key Democratic Senator Joe Manchin dashed any hopes for its passage Sunday
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation, I just can't.
O’KEEFFE: The decision stunned the White House, they called it a breach of his commitments to the President, but Manchin has always been concerned with the size and scope of the President's plan. Today the Senator blamed White House staff without offering details.
MANCHIN: And they drove some things and put some things out that were absolutely inexcusable.
PROTESTER: Tax the rich!
O’KEEFFE: And the far left for trying to pressure him.
MANCHIN: Well, guess what? I'm from West Virginia. I'm not from where they're from and they can just beat the living crap out of people and think they’ll be submissive. Period.
O’KEEFFE: Manchin’s objections put much of the President’s domestic agenda at risk. Nearly $2 trillion to fight climate change, expand childcare, Medicare, and universal pre-k programs, and it would have renewed an expiring tax credit for more than 35 million families with children. Progressives quickly denounced Manchin saying they warned he might do this.
CONGRESSWOMAN ILHAN OMAR: I really am just completely disappointed and disgusted by his reasoning.
O’KEEFFE: And today they said Democratic leaders need to take the kid gloves off in future negotiations.
CONGRESSWOMAN ALEXANDRIA OCASIO CORTEZ: Of course, we have every right to be furious with Joe Manchin, but it's really up to leadership in the democratic party who, you know made the decision to get us to this juncture and how we're going to move forward.
O’KEEFFE: Tonight CBS News' learned president Biden and senator Manchin spoke Sunday evening and that it went well and Senate Democrats still plan to debate the President's plan next month when they get back to Washington, hoping to force senator Manchin to express his opposition not just on the airwaves but also on the Senate Floor.
