President Trump mocked Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., for voting “yes” on Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh only after it was clear that Kavanaugh’s nomination was secure in the Senate.
“We had all the votes, so we didn’t need Joe’s vote. And he pressed that button. I think it was about one-eighth of one second after the vote from [Sen.] Susan Collins,” Trump said at a rally in West Virginia Friday evening. “I said Joe, that doesn’t count.”
Trump explained that he isn’t supporting Manchin, who has often voted with Republicans, because “he’s never going to vote with us.”
The president’s jab at Manchin is similar to what his GOP challenger, state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, threw at him during the lead-up to the Kavanaugh vote.
Morrisey routinely called Manchin “Sideline Joe,” arguing he showed no leadership during the contentious Kavanaugh nomination process.
The West Virginia senator was the last incumbent red-state Democratic senator to announce how he was voting on Kavanaugh. By the time Manchin had made up his mind to give Kavanaugh a thumbs up, every other incumbent red-state Democratic senator had announced they were voting against the then-nominee.
Manchin currently holds a steadfast lead against his Republican challenger, state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. RealClearPolitics’ polling average has Manchin up 8.7 percentage points against Morrisey heading into Election Day.
