Vice President Mike Pence went on the attack on Tuesday against Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia — a Democrat seeking reelection and one of President Donald Trump’s closest allies in that party.
I was in WV a few months ago & I spoke to the WV Chamber of Commerce. @Sen_JoeManchin was there – & I looked him in the eye and I told him, “Joe, the people of the Mountain State are counting on you,” so let’s “get this tax cut done together.” But #JoeVotedNo.
— Vice President Mike Pence Archived (@VP45) January 31, 2018
Joe Manchin voted NO to letting hard working families keep more of their hard-earned money. Joe voted NO on TAX CUTS for job creators. #JoeVotedNo
— Vice President Mike Pence Archived (@VP45) January 31, 2018
.@Sen_JoeManchin is going to keep voting against West Virginia & I think Chuck Schumer & Nancy Pelosi are pretty happy w/ the way he votes. But WV needs to let him know that they EXPECT BETTER & they need to let Joe know that WEST VIRGINIA DESERVES BETTER. #JoeVotedNo
— Vice President Mike Pence Archived (@VP45) January 31, 2018
When it came time to vote on sweeping tax cuts that helped West Virginians keep more of their money & made it possible for companies like Worldwide Equipment to invest more in their workers, @SenCapito voted YES & #JoeVotedNo
— Vice President Mike Pence Archived (@VP45) January 31, 2018
.@Sen_JoeManchin voted no to give working families more of your hard-earned money. Joe voted no on tax cuts. Joe voted no time and again on the policies that West Virginia needs. #JoeVotedNo pic.twitter.com/uV7SdAa2q8
— Vice President Mike Pence Archived (@VP45) January 31, 2018
The focus of Pence’s tweets were Manchin’s position on Trump’s controversial tax reform bill. Like every other Democratic member of the Senate, Manchin voted against the legislation. And Pence tried to use it against him.
“People of the Mountain State, you deserve to know, when it came to cutting your taxes, Joe voted no. Joe voted no to giving working families more of your hard-earned money. Joe voted no on tax cuts for job creators,” Pence said during his recent visit to the state, according to NBC News.
Manchin responded with a statement condemning the vice president by arguing that his negative comments are an example of what is wrong with American politics.
“I am shocked that after the Vice President worked for almost a year in a divisive and partisan way to take healthcare away from almost 200,000 West Virginians, bankrupt our hospitals, and push tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and huge corporations that he would come to West Virginia and continue his partisan attacks. The Vice President’s comments are exactly why Washington sucks,” Manchin wrote.
Manchin’s relationship with Trump has been unusually complicated for a Democratic senator. He has supported Trump on controversial issues like the nominations of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and Attorney General Jeff Sessions. During the State of the Union message earlier this week, Manchin stood up and applauded the president, even while many of his fellow Democrats remained seated, arguing that it was a matter of “civility and respect.”
