In his explosive 2025 memoir Dead Center: In Defense of Common Sense, former West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin exposes shocking details about the Biden administration’s relentless campaign to strong-arm him into supporting the multi-trillion-dollar “Build Back Better Act.”
Manchin reveals that President Biden and his inner circle waged an aggressive behind-the-scenes pressure campaign, one that left him fearing for his safety and the safety of his family.
According to Manchin, his refusal to back the bill, which he viewed as a far-left wishlist crafted by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, made him Public Enemy No. 1 in the eyes of the White House and progressive activists.
During a private Oval Office meeting, Biden allegedly grabbed Manchin’s arm and pleaded, “Joe, the country needs you.” Manchin responded: “Mr. President, the country needs you too,” according to ABC News.
When Manchin went public on Fox News to announce he would not support the Build Back Better bill, the response from the White House was swift and angry.
Manchin says he received a “hostile” voicemail from Biden, followed by a heated phone call in which the President was “irate.”
“I told him I was frustrated with the White House’s outreach,” Manchin writes, adding that Biden’s decision to single him out publicly “put my family in harm’s way.”
The two men ended the conversation tensely. Biden reportedly quipped, “We have a pissed off Irishman and a pissed off Italian. I think we should let things cool off.” The pair didn’t speak for three months.
According to Manchin, during an interview on the All In podcast, Biden’s team quickly turned up the heat, using the media and activist networks to vilify and intimidate him into submission.
Joe Manchin:
Then sure enough, one month later, they come back with BBB — Build Back Better. Now they’re talking $6 trillion. That bill was $10 trillion if it was a penny, with all the revamping. I couldn’t get there, guys. And I told him, I said, “Mr. President, I’m sorry, man, I can’t get there.” And they tried for eight months to beat up on me. I mean, I had to have security.Chamath Palihapitiya:
What is that like? What does the pressure campaign look like? Because it’s not just the President exactly as you write in the book — it’s people showing up at your house. It’s people with little kayaks with protest signs around your boat. It’s pretty intense.Joe Manchin:
It’s pretty intense, but I can tell you one thing: when every day the Capitol Police call you and say your death threats are serious right now — “We’ll meet you down where you live, and we’ll bring you to work, and we’ll take you back home” — you know things are pretty serious. I never wanted to know the extent, but I knew they were serious. Then one time they said, “This is really getting serious now, because now we got things — they know where your children go to school, they know where your grandchildren are, where your kids live.” And I’m thinking, “Oh my God, this is crazy.”And then I had a bunch of boaters come down — canoers. I got attacked by canoes. And I just said, “Guys, listen, we just disagree.” It was all climate people. And I said, “Listen, I want a clean climate. I just know we need energy to run our country, and there’s got to be a balance.” And so I said, “Come up to my office.” They said, “What?” I said, “Come to my office tomorrow. We can sit and talk. You don’t have to be out here in the…” But they thought that was the show they put on.
Joe Manchin:
When they came the next day, we talked. We agreed to disagree on some things, and we agreed on some things.Chamath Palihapitiya:
But Joe, I just want to understand, though — do you think that these are just random acts, or do you think that it’s an organized pressure campaign?Joe Manchin:
No, it was organized. They were paid, Chamath. Because a lot of my friends who live down at the river — on the Potomac River with me on the boat — they’d say, “How can I get a job with you? How can I do this if I want to protest?” They said, “Oh, just sign up and get $15 an hour.” I couldn’t believe it.
WATCH:
WOW! Fmr. Sen. Joe Manchin says Biden started a pressure campaign against him w/ death threats & paid protestors for not supporting the ‘Build Back Better’ spending bill
“They tried for eight months to beat up me. I mean, I had to have security.” pic.twitter.com/XY2jvhNW5j
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) October 24, 2025
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