Manchin Says Trump Called Him ‘All The Time’: ‘We Had A Good Rapport’

on April 10, 2018 in Washington, DC.
President Donald Trump talks with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) in April 2018. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said on Sunday that he had enjoyed a good relationship with then-President Donald Trump, with whom the senator said he had frequent conversations.

Manchin told USA Today that he “heard the Trump rhetoric forever.”

“I got along well with Donald Trump,” he said. “We had a good rapport.”

“He called me all the time. We talked back and forth,” the Democrat added.

However, Manchin said that Trump “liked conflicts and he liked that turmoil,” which is “fine if you’re in business. But for public service, it doesn’t work.”

“The whole principle of public service is to bring people together to get a consensus. And Donald Trump’s not made that way,” the senator told USA Today. “So when I started coming to that conclusion, I’m thinking that’s just a lot of rhetoric. I didn’t know there was that type of fever and pent-up hatred in people he allowed them to unleash.”

Manchin’s comity with Trump extended beyond friendly conversation: He voted for the ex-president’s agenda more than any other Democratic senator still in office except for fellow conservative Democrat Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), with whom Manchin ties at 50.4% in favor of Trump’s agenda, according to a vote tracker put together by FiveThirtyEight.

The West Virginia Democrat also voted to confirm Trump Supreme Court nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, who was accused of attempted sexual assault. Manchin left the door open to endorsing Trump’s reelection campaign early last year despite having voted to convict him in the then-president’s first impeachment trial.

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. “I got along well with Donald Trump,” he said. “We had a good rapport.”

    Phony motherfuckers of a feather ….


    I wonder if he added, “We both wanted the worst for the country.”?

  2. That makes Manchin a bitch, a grifter, or a moron. Or two or all three of the above.

  3. Avatar for msm msm says:

    Well, how 'bout this… Screw Manchin!

  4. Fodder for the rubes

    He’s ok until you have to vote to impeach him

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

165 more replies

Participants

Avatar for ajm Avatar for pluckyinky Avatar for jw1 Avatar for steviedee111 Avatar for voreason Avatar for squirreltown Avatar for sniffit Avatar for christianhankel Avatar for egyptsteve Avatar for ifeveroheverawiztherewas Avatar for schmed Avatar for zlohcuc Avatar for thunderclapnewman Avatar for tena Avatar for SereneTsunami Avatar for lizzymom Avatar for brian512 Avatar for hahagoodman Avatar for seamus42 Avatar for txlawyer Avatar for zenicetus Avatar for emiliano4 Avatar for LeeHarveyGriswold Avatar for ClutchCargo

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: