Bette Midler is issuing an apology for remarks about West Virginia after an “outburst” against Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). Midler on Twitter slammed Manchin over his announcement that he wouldn’t support President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, writing that what he has “done to the rest of America, who wants to move forward, not backward, like his state, is horrible.” The Hocus Pocus star added, “He sold us out. He wants us all to be just like his state, West Virginia. Poor, illiterate, and strung out.”
Midler quickly received criticism for her tweet, which she followed up by apologizing to “the good people of [West Virginia] for my last outburst.” She asked of Manchin, though, “Is he really the best [West Virginia] has to offer its own citizens? Surely there’s someone there who has the state’s interests at heart, not his own!”
Midler’s original comments drew backlash both from the left and the right, with Donald Trump Jr. saying “this is exactly what they think of good hardworking Americans that live outside of their elite bulls–t NY/LA bubbles,” while The Young Turks host Ana Kasparian wrote that West Virginians “overwhelmingly support the social spending package” that Manchin came out against and that “directing hate toward them is terrible.”
It was reported by the Washington Post on Monday that Manchin pitched Biden an alternative plan that included free universal pre-K for a decade, an Obamacare expansion, and a hefty climate investment – though the notable exception was Biden’s popular child tax credit, which expires this year.
But Midler appears to be accusing Manchin of going against his party because of his ties to the coal industry. Manchin’s family reportedly made a ‘small fortune’ according to the New York Times, selling discarded coal refuse to a West Virginia power plant. The West Virginia Democrat’s stake in the business is in a blind trust that made him between $500,000 and $1 million last year.
He’s also lined his pockets with more money from coal, oil, and gas industries than any other senator in this election cycle. Manchin along with Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema is the two moderates whose opposition to the package was responsible for chipping away at its initial $3.5 trillion price tag.
‘I am glad that he voted against this massive spending bill, and so are the majority of the WV people.’ A Twitter user who identified herself as Jane Donovan wrote: ‘Bette, that’s not fair. West Virginia is full of good people who work hard and take care of each other. ‘Dealing in stereotypes doesn’t help.’
Another angry Twitter user wrote: ‘I have lived in WV my entire life. I have two college degrees and a well-paying job. ‘My husband owns a successful small business. We are homeowners and don’t use drugs. ‘Bette is using politics as an excuse to be hateful. ‘Manchin, the centrist Democrat, represents West Virginia, a deep-red state that voted overwhelmingly for Biden’s opponent, former President Donald Trump, in the last presidential election.
The senator has come under intense pressure from progressive Democrats for announcing he would vote down Biden’s Build Back Better plan – a $2trillion spending proposal that would seek to address climate change and other key issues.
Her friendly words were a 180 from 24 hours earlier when Psaki slammed Manchin following his shocking announcement on Fox News Sunday that he would not vote for Biden’s $1.75 trillion Build Back Better legislation. Psaki essentially called Manchin a liar who had betrayed the White House. But on Monday she said the president and his team were moving forward and
‘I think Senator Manchin had a strong statement yesterday and we had a strong statement as well. And we’re ready to move forward and get this done and work like hell to do that with Senator Manchin with members of the Democratic caucus across the Democratic Party, and that’s our focus,’ Psaki said at the daily White House press briefing.
She called her harsh Sunday statement a ‘statement of facts of the events of what happened over the last few weeks. And it was simply an effort to make that clear to the American people.’ Democrats and progressives were immediately furious at Manchin.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Monday railed against Manchin and the United States Senate, calling for reforms in the institution, which she described as an ‘old boys’ club,’ and demanding Manchin face ‘consequences’ for killing Biden’s Build Back Better bill. She urged the president to use the power of his executive pen to take action on his $1.75 trillion legislation of social safety programs. ‘It is unconscionable the way the Senate operates. It’s fundamentally undemocratic,’ she said on MSNBC’s Morning, Joe.