U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), one of two Democratic lawmakers dramatically endangering President Joe Biden’s historic plan to strengthen the social safety net, is denying a report from the well-respected progressive news outlet Mother Jones that he is considering leaving the Democratic Party, and has a plan to do so.

“It’s bullshit,” says the West Virginia Democrat who is demanding Biden’s Build Back Better plan come in at $1.75 trillion. (The original price tag was $7 trillion.)

CNN’s Manu Raju got the scoop:

Manchin denies story he’s considering leaving Democratic Party: “It’s bullshit,” he told me. He added: “I have no control of rumors.”

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 20, 2021

Mother Jones’ David Corn reported Wednesday Manchin “has told associates that he is considering leaving the Democratic Party if President Joe Biden and Democrats on Capitol Hill do not agree to his demand to cut the size of the social infrastructure bill from $3.5 trillion to $1.75 trillion, according to people who have heard Manchin discuss this. Manchin has said that if this were to happen, he would declare himself an ‘American Independent.’ And he has devised a detailed exit strategy for his departure.”

That plan involves resigning from Senate Democratic leadership, then, depending on the response from Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, leaving the party altogether.

“Through it all,” Corn adds, Manchin “has insisted that $1.75 trillion is his top and final offer, and he has constantly said no to proposed programs that almost every other congressional Democrat supports. He has told his fellow Democrats that if they don’t accept his position, they risk getting nothing.”

During the 2016 presidential campaign candidate Donald Trump was mocked for repeatedly saying, “I alone can fix it.”

It appears he’s following that thinking once again, as he speeds faster and faster away from the advice of his most-trusted advisor, son-in-law Jared Kushner, according to Axios’s Jonathan Swan.

“President Trump has told people in recent days that he regrets following some of son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner’s political advice — including supporting criminal justice reform — and will stick closer to his own instincts,” Axios reports.

“One person who spoke with the president interpreted his thinking this way: ‘No more of Jared’s woke s***.’ Another said Trump has indicated that following Kushner’s advice has harmed him politically.”

As proof of his move away from Kushner and police reform, Swan points to Trump’s recent tweets.

“He’s tweeted enthusiastically about arresting people who are looting or damaging statues, and has promised to veto must-pass defense spending legislation if it removes Confederate generals’ names from military bases,” Swan writes.

And as recently as this morning, “Trump described ‘Black Lives Matter’ as a ‘symbol of hate.'”

….horrible BLM chant, “Pigs In A Blanket, Fry ‘Em Like Bacon”. Maybe our GREAT Police, who have been neutralized and scorned by a mayor who hates & disrespects them, won’t let this symbol of hate be affixed to New York’s greatest street. Spend this money fighting crime instead!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 1, 2020

Photo: One year ago, President Trump at the G20 with Jared Kushner.
Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead via Flickr

For the second time in his political career, South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham is playing a starring role in the impeachment of a United States president. This time, it may end his time in elected office.

MSNBC anchor Chris Hayes on Friday examined Graham’s transformation from being one of President Bill Clinton’s biggest critics as a member of the House of Representatives to becoming one of President Donald Trump’s most passionate defenders in the U.S. Senate.

“I could probably spend an entire hour just documenting the hilarious hypocrisy of Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina on the impeachment trial process. He was famously a House manager during the Clinton impeachment, and he’s done basically a 180 on literally everything he said then on what constitutes an impeachment offense.”

Hayes noted a recent poll had shown Graham’s favorability rating to only be at 38%.

Hayes interviewed Jaime Harrison, a South Carolina Democrat challenging Graham in the 2020 election.

“In my house, we were taught you have to have strong values and integrity and that you kept your promises and you stood by your oath,” Harrison said. “But right now what we’re seeing with Lindsey Graham is that his word is like mud.”

“This guy is not someone we can take seriously. There should be a big flashing sign above Lindsey Graham’s head that says ‘voters beware.’ This guy doesn’t keep his promises,” Harrison said.

Watch: