Former Senator Manchin Criticizes Biden Presidency for Far-Left Influence and Details Intense Pressure Over Build Back Better

In his 2025 memoir and recent interviews, Senator Joe Manchin reveals intense pressure from President Joe Biden and his far-left staff to support the Build Back Better Act, which Manchin opposed as too extreme and not aligned with Biden's true beliefs. Manchin describes a tense Oval Office meeting where Biden physically grabbed his arm, urging him to back the bill, and recounts receiving hostile communications from the president after publicly rejecting the legislation. He also alleges that Biden's team used media and activist allies to intimidate him, creating a hostile environment that forced him to seek security for himself and his family. Manchin criticizes Biden's staff, particularly Chief of Staff Ron Klain, for pushing the president too far left, which Manchin believes contributed to lost political opportunities and Biden's diminished will to fight. Despite acknowledging Biden as a good man, Manchin laments that the president was swayed by a far-left agenda inconsistent with the country's centrist leanings. White House spokespersons have maintained that their agenda reflected the president's campaign promises, disputing Manchin's characterizations.