CNN Debate Erupts After Former Bernie Surrogate Calls Manchin a ‘Soulless Coward’ Right to His Ex-Adviser’s Face

Friday’s New Day on CNN featured an explosive showdown between former Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) surrogate Nina Turner and Jonathan Kott, former senior adviser to Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) who has remained unchanged in his opposition to changing or eliminating the filibuster even to pass voting legislation.

In addition to Manchin, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) reiterated her opposition to changing or eliminating the filibuster in the 50-50 Senate that Democrats control since Vice President Kamala Harris is the tiebreaking vote as the president of the Senate. Without Manchin and Sinema’s support, Democrats won’t be able to overcome unanimous GOP opposition in abolishing or changing the filibuster to pass voting legislation. Biden this week called for the filibuster to be changed or eliminated in order to pass the legislation.

Turner did not hold back as she called the stalled status of such legislation “a sad day, a sad time for democracy.”

“An absolute sad day that you have senators that would rather hold on to the filibuster than to hold strong for democracy in the United States of America,” she said. “Sad indeed.”

Kott said:

Yes, we need to pass voting rights act. Senator Manchin and Senator Sinema’s positions on the filibuster hasn’t changed. They don’t think it is good for the Senate or the country overall and they’re worried about what might happen when the Republicans take back the Senate, which, by the way, isn’t that far off. It was only two years ago they had complete control, but they are looking to preserve how the Senate works and force them to work in a bipartisan way.

But Sen. Manchin completely agrees that we need to reform our voting rights in this country and he’s working on it and he’s working a bill and he’s hoping that he can get nine more Republicans. But these things aren’t easy, and they take time.

Turner fired back: “Preservation, my behind.”

“We need to preserve democracy now,” she said. “So I got to disagree with my colleague here.”

Turner called Manchin and Sinema “soulless cowards” and slammed President Joe Biden for having “wasted a whole bunch of time with these folks being diplomatic, inviting them out to the White House.”

Biden met with the two senators at the White House to push for voting legislation, just hours after meeting on Capitol Hill with the Senate Democratic caucus to rally them to support the legislation.

Turner called for Biden to hold a press conference to call out Manchin and Sinema and say “either you’re going to be by my side, saying you gonna be with me in getting rid of the filibuster, or I’m gassing up the jet on your behind, and I will be in Arizona and West Virginia directly and let the American people know who standing in the way of my entire agenda, not just voting rights.”

Kott replied, “That’s not how Congress works. President Biden has a long history of working with senators. He knows the best way to do it is work with them, have constructive conversations. That’s why he had the two of them over to the White House last night. They’re going to keep working together.

“He’s had a great first year, he’s historic first year, and Democrats should be celebrating that and running on that in 2022. Gassing up the jet and heading to West Virginia and Arizona is not actually going to get it done. There are ways people can get things done in D.C.”

Kott cited the bipartisan infrastructure bill as an example of something getting done in Congress during Biden’s presidency.

“Slogans and yelling isn’t the way it works,” he said. “So if you want to get something done, sit down with them and keep talking. And that’s what senator Manchin is going to keep doing.”

Turner responded, “Give me a break.” She noted that there have been talks between Biden and the senators.

She went on to say that “while we need to repair infrastructure in the United States of America, that is not giving people something they can feel.”

“Poor people are suffering in this country, and you got senators who are set for the rest of their natural lives playing games,” she said.

“Jonathan, spare me,” added Turner.

She said, “So President Biden, gas up the jet!”

Watch above, via CNN.