Biden Claims “Much-Predicted Crisis Didn’t Occur,” Psaki Calls Manchin No “Withering Flower” as Build Back Better Talks Resume

On 12/22/2021, President Biden touted his administration’s efforts to address supply chain bottlenecks ahead of the holiday season, declaring “the much-predicted crisis didn’t occur.” Press Secretary Jen Psaki denied that Democrats had bullied Senator Joe Manchin over Build Back Better, calling him no “withering flower on the side of the road.” The briefing also featured questions about whether the White House would change course on economic policy given dismal polling on inflation.

”Shelves Are Not Empty”

Biden declared victory over the supply chain crisis that had dominated headlines for months. “We heard a lot of dire warnings about supply chain problems leading to a crisis around the holidays,” Biden said. “The much-predicted crisis didn’t occur. Packages are moving. Gifts are being delivered. Shelves are not empty.”

He acknowledged some gaps. “I’m sure you can go and find some shelf where it’s empty because a particular sort of gifts are very popular,” Biden said. “But 90 percent availability.” He credited his administration’s work with the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which he said had “nearly cut in half the number of those great big containers.”

Psaki: Manchin Is No “Withering Flower”

Fox News correspondent Jacqui Heinrich asked Psaki whether there would be “a softer approach” in dealing with Manchin after the fallout from his Build Back Better rejection, using the word “bullying” to describe Democrats’ treatment of the senator.

“Well, again, I wouldn’t characterize it that way, Jacqui,” Psaki said. “But I would tell you that Senator Manchin is somebody who has won many tough-fought fights in West Virginia. He comes proudly from a coal-mining family. He’s a pretty outspoken advocate for the things he believes in and the things he doesn’t. And I would doubt he’s a withering flower on the side of the road.”

The White House Staff Controversy

Reporters pressed Psaki about reports that Manchin had “pulled the plug” on Build Back Better specifically because he was upset about White House staff naming him in a presidential statement. “Has the staffer who is responsible for putting his name in there, have they faced any retribution for this or been spoken to about it?” a reporter asked.

Psaki deflected. “I haven’t seen all of the comments that Senator Manchin has made on this,” she said. “We’re going to spend less time looking in the rearview mirror and more about looking forward.”

When asked directly whether Manchin had been consistent in his objections, Psaki partially agreed. “I agree that he has been consistent in his communication with the White House about his concerns,” she said. But she added: “The statement we put out on Sunday made clear that we didn’t feel that his announcement on Sunday was aligned with what he’d committed directly to the president.”

Economic Policy Driven “By Economists, Not Polls”

A reporter cited a poll showing 38 percent of registered voters said Biden’s economic policies had hurt them, 43 percent said they made no difference, and only 22 percent said his policies were getting inflation under control. “At what point do you look at poll numbers like this and change course on economic policies?” the reporter asked.

Psaki’s response was blunt: “I think our economic policies are driven by economists, not by polls.”

The 60-Vote Problem

Psaki was pressed on whether the White House would be willing to separate the child tax credit from Build Back Better, given reports that Manchin’s last counter-offer excluded the extension. Psaki noted the structural challenge: “If anything is broken off, you would need 60 votes to get it done. The reason why we can do a Build Back Better package with every Democrat is because it’s through a reconciliation process that would require 50 votes.”

When a reporter observed this sounded like the child tax credit would remain in negotiations, Psaki declined to confirm but reiterated: “On the question of could we just move it forward alone, you’d need 60 votes to do that.”

Manchin Switching Parties?

Reporters also asked about reports that Republicans were trying to recruit Manchin to switch parties. Psaki was careful in her response. “The president considers him a friend. He believes they share values about a range of things personally, but also about why they’re in public service,” she said, pointing to Manchin to speak for himself.

Key Takeaways

Biden declared the “much-predicted” holiday supply chain crisis “didn’t occur,” claiming 90% shelf availability after his administration’s port interventions.
Psaki denied Democrats had bullied Manchin, calling him no “withering flower on the side of the road” and saying the White House would look forward, not in the rearview mirror.
Psaki said the White House felt Manchin’s announcement was “not aligned with what he’d committed directly to the president.”
When confronted with polls showing only 22% of voters believed Biden’s policies were controlling inflation, Psaki said economic policy was “driven by economists, not by polls.”
The White House signaled the child tax credit would remain in Build Back Better negotiations because breaking it off would require 60 Senate votes.

Transcript Highlights

The following is transcribed from the video audio (unverified — AI-generated from audio).

The much-predicted crisis didn’t occur. Packages are moving. Gifts are being delivered. Shelves are not empty.
Senator Manchin is somebody who has won many tough-fought fights in West Virginia. He comes proudly from a coal-mining family. I would doubt he’s a withering flower on the side of the road.
The statement we put out on Sunday made clear that we didn’t feel that his announcement was aligned with what he’d committed directly to the president.
I think our economic policies are driven by economists, not by polls.
If anything is broken off, you would need 60 votes to get it done. The reason we can do Build Back Better with every Democrat is because it’s through reconciliation.
The president considers him a friend. He believes they share values about why they’re in public service.

Full transcript: 1593 words transcribed via Whisper AI.