Manchin, Fox News host get heated: ‘Don’t make this personal’

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Tuesday pushed back forcefully on a line of questioning from Fox News host Harris Faulkner, who peppered the lawmaker with questions about his support for President Biden’s agenda and his party’s fate in the coming midterm elections.

“You’ve got a president whose approval rating is like as low as Congress’s,” Faulkner told Manchin. “No offense, but when you get into the 30s nobody is that popular and that’s the president.”

Manchin shot back, asking the host, “Harris, are you scared we’re going to do something that’ll help our country and someone might take credit for that?”

Faulkner, apparently offended by Manchin’s suggestion, responded by saying, “Of course not. My father served. Are you kidding?”

“Service is in the Bible, that’s what we do. We serve our fellow man and woman,” she continued.

“That’s exactly what I’m doing, exactly it,” the moderate Democratic senator interjected.

“Of course, don’t make this personal, because it’s not,” Faulkner said. “I’m simply asking that — you’ve got a president who can’t really help anybody on the campaign trail with the numbers he’s rocking right now.”

Manchin was appearing on Faulkner’s daytime talk show Tuesday to discuss a number of issues, chief among them his support for a climate, health care and taxes deal that he struck with Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) last week.

The deal will be part of a budget reconciliation package that Senate Democrats plan to bring to the floor this coming week, The Hill previously reported.