President Trump slammed Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., in his home state on Thursday over his refusal to support policies ranging from tax reform to border security.
“I thought he would be helpful, because he talks — he grabs me, I grab him, he says hello, I say hello — but he votes against everything,” Trump told a crowd in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia on Thursday during an event that was billed as a tax reform roundtable.
Trump instead vented his frustrations on immigration reform and voter fraud, among other issues, and literally tossed his prepared remarks on tax cuts into the air at one point as he described his original speech as “boring.”
Trump: “This would have been my remarks. It would have taken about two minutes .. but to hell with it” pic.twitter.com/LcTcYx5YH0
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) April 5, 2018
The president reminded West Virginians that Manchin, whom Republicans once hoped to court as a swing vote in the Senate due to his vulnerability in a deeply red state, is up for re-election in November.
“The Democrats have a problem. I mean, if you look at your senator, he voted against, Joe, he voted against [tax cuts],” Trump said.
“He also voted against medical help and healthcare and that’s bad and we can’t have it,” Trump said, referring to Manchin’s vote against the Republicans’ unsuccessful Obamacare repeal efforts last year.
“So you know, it’s one of those things,” Trump added. “And he does other things that I don’t like, I’ll be honest with you.”
