Tuesday on Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom,” Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) invited Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) to follow him over to the GOP.
Manchin is reportedly weighing a move to being an independent after being accused of disloyalty for rejecting President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better agenda.
Van Drew said the situation with Manchin “is in some ways similar to what happened” to him when he refused to impeach President Donald Trump.
“Well, I don’t know that he will. I surely hope that he will, and I surely invite him to come into our party. I really believe he would be happier in the Republican Party,” Van Drew said when asked if he thinks Manchin would swap to the Republican Party.
“What has happened to Joe Manchin is in some ways similar to what happened to me,” he continued. “You know, I wouldn’t vote for impeachment, and I was beaten up by leadership in Washington, leadership back in the district. In fact, the last thing that was said to me, I’ll never forget it, is, ‘You will obey.’ And I was threatened. Just like Joe Manchin’s West Virginia, well, I’m from New Jersey. And let me tell you, you don’t say that. You don’t tell people from Jersey they’re going to obey. And, of course, the rest was history. By the way, a really interesting factoid, two years to the day that Joe Manchin made his decision, a good decision, not to vote for this bill is two years to the day is when I was in the oval office with President Trump and made my decision that I was going to leave the party.”
Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent
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