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Francis Chung/E&E News/POLITICO via AP Images
Centrist Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) criticized President Joe Biden for recent comments he made about shutting down coal plants across the country, decrying the idea as being “divorced from reality.”
“President Biden’s comments are not only outrageous and divorced from reality, they ignore the severe economic pain the American people are feeling because of rising energy costs,” Manchin said in a statement. “Comments like these are the reason the American people are losing trust in President Biden and instead believes he does not understand the need to have an all in energy policy that would keep our nation totally energy independent and secure.”
Manchin’s comments come after Biden pledged on Friday to shut down coal plants to replace them with solar and wind electricity, arguing the former is too expensive to operate. Biden’s remarks were quickly met with criticism from Republicans who argued closing the plants would put millions of people out of work.