West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin was reportedly stopped by panicking Democrats from publically calling on President Biden to end his re-election campaign.
Dems reportedly put a “full-court press” on Manchin.
From The New York Post:
The West Virginia senator — who recently left the Democratic Party and slammed the “partisan extremism” in politics — had let slip to allies that he was going to use a TV news appearance on Sunday to demand the 81-year-old president throw in his re-election campaign, the Washington Post reported, citing multiple sources.
But senior Democrats quickly assembled a “full-court press” as they scrambled to prevent him from becoming the first prominent elected official allied to the party to break from Biden, the sources said.
Manchin, who still caucuses with the Democratic Party, eventually relented and backed out of the scheduled appearance, according to the insiders.
“Nobody wants to be the first one to knife Julius Caesar,” one party official said.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was among those who spoke to Manchin via phone over the weekend. One source, however, insisted the pair only spoke after Manchin had already decided not to show his face on TV.
“Joe Manchin talks to lots of people because he wants to get different views and political perspectives,” Manchin senior political adviser Jonathan Kott said in a statement following the reports.
“When he has something to say, you’ll hear it directly from him, and trust me, there’s nobody that can talk him out of speaking his mind.”
More over at The New York Post:
Dems scrambled to stop Sen. Joe Manchin from breaking with Biden – as aides ‘freak the f–k out’: reports https://t.co/vkjSnJsrva pic.twitter.com/EpHn2Y2iqL
— New York Post (@nypost) July 3, 2024
