Bill Maher Defends Manchin, Sinema From Progressives’ Criticism: ‘They Only Got Elected Because They’re Not Progressives!’

On Friday’s episode of Real Time, Bill Maher defended Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) from their critics in the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, pointing out that the two senators were elected because their moderate politics were a better fit for their voters.

The attacks on Manchin and Sinema have spiked recently as the Democrats try to negotiate versions of the $1.5 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and the $3.5 trillion spending bill that can get enough support in both the House and the Senate to pass. The later bill includes coverage for progressive wish list items like free community college, universal pre-K, Medicare expansion, child care coverage, etc.

With control of the Senate divided evenly between Democrats and Republicans — Vice President Kamala Harris can cast a tie-breaking vote — Manchin and Sinema’s two votes are enough to block the spending bill from passing, since it is not expected to get any Republican votes.

President Joe Biden made a rare trip to Capitol Hill Friday to meet with House Democrats, but so far the party in-fighting has continued without being able to reach a deal. After the meeting, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D- WA), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, knocked the “few conservative Democrats” who “are standing in our way.”

The fight about these bills was about money, Maher remarked, highlighting the massive multi-trillion dollar price tag of the two bills. The progressive “AOC-Bernie wing” of the party wanted both bills to pass, and they were going to hold the infrastructure bill “hostage” in order to get the spending bill, said Maher. These progressives were really mad at Manchin and Sinema for blocking the spending bill, but that was unfair, he argued.

“They’re mad at them because they’re not progressive enough — forgetting that they only got elected because they’re not progressives!” said Maher. “They’re moderates.”

“Here’s my question: Does spending more money make you a better person? Or a bigger moderate?” asked Maher. “And maybe these two, Sinema and Manchin — they might have their thumb more on the pulse on the average Democrat in the country.”

“I think it’s so telling that the main conversation about this is just people shouting those two trillion-dollar numbers at each other over and over,” replied guest Katherine Mangu-Ward, Reason editor-in-chief. “Nobody knows what’s in the bills.”

“I find that to be a problem,” said Maher.

“The American public — it’s not clear that what they voted for when they voted for Joe Biden, who was perceived as a moderate, was $3.5 trillion of massive new social programs,” said Mangu-Ward. “That may not be what people actually want, and I think it’s reasonable enough for our representatives to say, ‘Hey, hold on, can we talk about this a little more?'”

Watch the video above, via HBO.