For years Joe Manchin has been the Senate’s second most annoying Democrat. Or is it a toss-up? Kyrsten Sinema may be a terrible dresser who’s voted against a minimum wage hike and a motion that would have codified abortion rights nationwide. Manchin, on the other hand, makes a show of being a thorn in Joe Biden’s side and supporting policies that harm his constituents. One of them involves an environmentally dodgy pipeline, which so angered protesters that they called him a nasty name — and got a nasty respose.
BREAKING: we just called Joe Manchin a sick fuck. We humiliated him in front of a herd of Harvard elites. He squared up. We held firm. Barbaric murderer, hideous fiend, he torches humanity and laughs. pic.twitter.com/1ajrQsKnbJ
— Climate Defiance (@ClimateDefiance) March 1, 2024
Per The Daily Beast, the environmental group Climate Defiance posted a video of them confronting the West Virginia senator at an event at Harvard University. They’re angry over the continuing construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which runs through his home state, cutting through the Apalachin Trail. One protester accused Manchin of having “sold our futures and got rich doing it.” Manchin nervously laughed through it, but when the young man called him a “sick f*ck,” the fake smile dropped and he got right up in his face.
What appeared to be one of Manchin’s security detail intervened, but instead of calming things down, he took it next level, throwing the protester to the ground.
Later in the video Manchin tries to get the protesters to “sit down” for a civil chat, but they refused, accusing him of having “received more funding from fossil fuels than any other senator.” Eventually they chanted “protect our futures, not your profits” as he tried unsuccessfully to ignore them.
The pipeline cleared regulatory obstacles and lawsuits last summer. Manchin celebrated the move, claiming it would create jobs. A number of environmental groups, including the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, have opposed it, saying it could lead to soil erosion, landslides, gas leaks, and weaker water quality.
Manchin is used to pissing off people in his own party, and he usually keeps things cool. If you want to see what it’s like when he loses it, check out the video above.
(Via The Daily Beast)