Brooks: Manchin Blocking Biden Is Why We Didn’t Have Even Worse Inflation

On Friday’s broadcast of “PBS NewsHour,” New York Times columnist David Brooks argued that even though a lot of Democrats don’t like him, outgoing Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) saved the Biden administration and the Democratic Party by blocking proposals by the Biden administration for massive spending that would have led to “astronomical” levels of inflation, “and the Biden administration would be in much worse shape if our inflation had hit like double digits, which it could have [been] overstimulating to that degree.”

Co-host Geoff Bennett asked, “What’s the legacy that Joe Manchin leaves behind?”

Brooks answered, “He saved the Biden administration. And so, the Biden administration, and — if you remember, a few years ago, wanted to spend $4 trillion to pump up the economy. And he said, no way, no way. It was more like 1 trillion. And, as a result — if we had spent 4 trillion, instead of 1 trillion, the inflation — which we really suffered from — would have been astronomical, and the Biden administration would be in much worse shape if our inflation had hit like double digits, which it could have [been] overstimulating to that degree. So, Democrats don’t like Joe Manchin, but he did save their bacon.”