US President Joe Biden was lambasted by Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), following his remarks, claiming that he would shut down coal plants across the United States.
During his speech at an event in Carlsbad, California last Friday, Joe Biden released a controversial statement, attacking coal plants by pledging that he would shut down coal plants and replace them with wind and solar electricity because the former is too expensive to operate.
“I was in Massachusetts about a month ago on the site of the largest old coal plant in America. Guess what? It cost them too much money. They can’t count. No one is building new coal plants because they can’t rely on it. Even if they have all the coal guaranteed for the rest of the existence of the plant,” Biden declared.
“So it’s going to become a wind generation. And all they’re doing is it’s going to save them a hell of a lot of money and using the same transmission line that they transmitted the coal-fired electric on, we’re going to be shutting these plants down all across America and having wind and solar power, also providing tax credits to help families buy energy efficient appliances, whether it’s your refrigerator or your coffee maker, for solar panels on your home, weatherize your home, things that save an average, experts say, a minimum of $500 a year for the average family,” the president added.
His statement sparked outrage among the public just days before the midterm elections, including his fellow Democrat, Centrist Senator Manchin who decried Biden’s 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. 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 lamented.
“Being cavalier about the loss of coal jobs for men and women in West Virginia and across the country who literally put their lives on the line to help build and power this country is offensive and disgusting,” Manchin argued.
After Manchin responded to President Biden’s controversial remarks, he released an official statement through his press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
“The President’s remarks yesterday have been twisted to suggest a meaning that was not intended; he regrets it if anyone hearing these remarks took offense,” Jean-Pierre stated.
“The President was commenting on a fact of economics and technology: as it has been from its earliest days as an energy superpower, America is once again in the midst of an energy transition. Our goal as a nation is to combat climate change and increase our energy security by producing clean and efficient American energy,” the press secretary explained.
