Manchin doubles down on effort to push Biden to center

NEWS AND OPINION:

Quite a few political analysts have kept an eye on Sen. Joe Manchin III in recent months, looking for signs that the West Virginia Democrat might be considering an independent run for the White House on a “unity ticket.”

Mr. Manchin is also under scrutiny for another reason. He could be seeking to sway President Biden in a specific way.

“Are you really going to try to get on the president’s schedule and try to move him to the center before you make a decision on your next step?” Fox News anchor Brian Kilmeade asked the lawmaker in an interview Wednesday.

“No matter who your president is, whether you’re for him or against him, same party or not — you want your president to succeed. I think President Biden’s been pushed too far to the left,” Mr. Manchin declared.

“I think he knows my feelings about that, and he should be coming back to the center or center-left, which is where we make most of our decisions. It’s where the economy is. And that’s where the country is,” he said.

“There’s not a successful person or a family that makes any decisions from the extremes and thinks it’s going to exist or last. So, we’re trying to bring it back to the center. And that’s if I get a chance and they want to meet. I’m happy to meet with them,” Mr. Manchin said.

GOING ON TOUR

Vice President Kamala Harris paid a call on the ladies of “The View,” the ABC morning talk show that often addresses politics. Ms. Harris revealed that she would soon be on a formal “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” tour, set to kick off in Wisconsin.

“The government should not be telling women what to do with their bodies — and starting January 22nd, which is the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, I’m starting a tour on fighting for our reproductive freedom,” the vice president advised her hosts.

And one more thing. The vice president also offered some insight about another White House endeavor.

“We are in the process of investing over a trillion dollars in the climate crisis,” Ms. Harris said.  

PULLING THE PLUG

ABC News and New Hampshire ABC affiliate WMUR-TV have canceled a planned Republican primary debate, which was set for Thursday with David Muir and Linsey Davis as co-moderators.

“A Republican presidential primary debate planned for Thursday in New Hampshire has been canceled after two of the three candidates who qualified for the stage have declined to participate. Former President Donald Trump and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley declined invitations to Thursday’s WMUR/ABC News debate Thursday,” WMUR said in a written statement released Wednesday.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had agreed to participate, the news organization said.

“Our intent was to host a debate coming out of the Iowa caucuses, but we always knew that would be contingent on the candidates and the outcome of the race. As a result, while our robust election coverage will continue, ABC News and WMUR-TV will not be moving forward with Thursday’s Republican presidential primary debate in New Hampshire,” WMUR and ABC News advised in a joint written statement, also released Wednesday.

ABC wasn’t alone. CNN decided Wednesday to cancel its previously scheduled Sunday debate after only a single candidate — Mr. DeSantis — accepted the invitation.

CNN did not go entirely dormant, though. It now plans to host a town meeting with Mrs. Haley at 9 p.m. Eastern time Thursday in New Hampshire.

FOXIFIED

Fox News Digital — the online outreach of the cable news network — closed 2023 as the “top-performing news brand,” according to Conscore, an industry source that tracks the traffic and the audience numbers.

And what numbers.

“For the year, Fox News Digital secured 20.2 billion multiplatform views, over 36.9 billion multiplatform minutes and averaged 93.7 million monthly multiplatform unique visitors. CNN and The New York Times both saw year-over-year decreases across these key performance indicators,” the network said in a written statement.

Fox News was also the most engaged news brand on social media in 2023, according to Emplifi, another industry source, which also found that the network had over 315 million social media interactions.

Specifically, Fox News drove 81.6 million Facebook contacts, 34.2 million on X and 198.9 million on Instagram. On YouTube, the network’s video fare was viewed 2.3 billion times, according to Shareablee, yet another industry source.

In addition, FoxBusiness.com received 1.9 billion multiplatform views in 2023, its highest ranking since its launch in 2007.

IN A SPENDING MOOD

The National Retail Federation has cited some reassuring findings about recent consumer spending.

“U.S. Census Bureau data released Wednesday shows that core retail sales during the 2023 holiday season grew 3.8% over 2022 to a record $964.4 billion, easily meeting the National Retail Federation’s forecast despite continued inflation and high interest rates,” the NRF said in a written statement shared with Inside the Beltway.

That spending mood was also present throughout the year.

“Sales for the full year grew 3.6% over 2022 to a record $5.13 trillion,” the organization said.

“Consumer spending was remarkably resilient throughout 2023 and finished the year with a solid pace for the holiday season,” said NRF chief economist Jack Kleinhenz, also in a written statement.

“Although inflation has been the biggest concern for households, the price of goods eased notably and was helped by a healthy labor market, underscoring a successful holiday season for retailers,” he said.

POLL DU JOUR

• 62% of registered voters in California do not think that U.S. borders are secure and can prevent people from entering the country illegally.

• 42% of California voters say unauthorized immigrants are a “major burden to the country.”

• 30% of California voters say unauthorized immigrants are a “minor burden.”

• 22% of California voters say unauthorized immigrants are not a burden.

• 6% of California voters have no opinion on the burden issue.

SOURCE: Berkeley IGSPoll of 8,199 registered California voters conducted Jan. 4-8 by the Institute of Governmental Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.

• Contact Jennifer Harper at jharper@washingtontimes.com.