Trump ramps up attacks on ‘puppet’ Joe Manchin over impeachment vote

“Can’t say I mind the fact that the great people of West Virginia are furious at their puppet Democrat Senator, Joe Manchin,” Trump tweeted. “They will never forget his phony vote on the Impeachment Hoax. All he had to do is read the Transcripts, sadly, which he wouldn’t understand anyway.”

In a subsequent tweet, Trump compared Manchin to Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), the only Republican to break with the party and vote convict the president of abuse of power. Trump also claimed that he was responsible for a recent spending package that included funding for thousands of coal miners’ pensions and healthcare, stating that “Manchin couldn’t do it.”

…But, just like the people of West Virginia will no longer look at weak & pathetic Joe Manchin the same (I got the Pension Bill approved, Manchin couldn’t do it), the wonderful people of Utah will never look at “grandstander” Mitt Romney with anything but contempt & disgust!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2020

The West Virginia senator flatly rebuked Trump’s comments in a pair of tweets just hours later. 

“Trump – no Democrat has worked harder in a bipartisan way in the hopes that you would succeed. The people of WV know exactly who has worked day & night for the last 5 years to secure their healthcare & pensions & it wasn’t you,” Manchin said. 

He added that “where I come from a person accused defends themselves with witnesses and evidence,” a reference to the GOP-led Senate blocking a motion for new witnesses and documents in the impeachment trial. 

I’ve read the transcripts thoroughly & listened to the witnesses under oath. Where I come from a person accused defends themselves with witnesses and evidence.

— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) February 9, 2020

Trump has attacked those who voted for his conviction in the days since the Senate acquitted him of the impeachment articles approved in the House. The lower chamber in December voted to impeach Trump following an inquiry into allegations that he leveraged nearly $400 million in military aid to get Ukraine to announce investigations into his political rival. 

Manchin, a red-state Democrat who narrowly won reelection in 2018, was considered to be a swing vote heading into the decisive vote. He announced just before the vote began, however, that he would support both impeachment articles — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.  

“I was told by many that Manchin was just a puppet for Schumer & Pelosi,” Trump, who won West Virginia by more than 40 points in 2016, tweeted on Friday. “That’s all he is!” 

“They are really mad at Senator Joe Munchkin in West Virginia. He couldn’t understand the Transcripts. Romney could, but didn’t want to!” Trump added in a tweet late Sunday morning.

They are really mad at Senator Joe Munchkin in West Virginia. He couldn’t understand the Transcripts. Romney could, but didn’t want to!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2020

Trump and his GOP allies repeatedly denounced the impeachment proceedings initiated in the House, often describing it as an effort to undo the results of the 2016 election. Democrats have meanwhile argued that Trump’s conduct with Ukraine represented a clear abuse of power and that the president would take part in similar behavior if left unchecked. 

–This report was updated at 11:21 a.m.