AOC underestimated Manchin because of bias against the South: Dagen McDowell

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'The Five' react to Ilhan Omar, 'The Squad' going 'nuclear' over Manchin tanking Biden's Build Back Better

'The Five' panel discusses the fallout after key Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, said on Fox News Sunday that he will not vote for President Biden's Build Back Better bill.

Dagen McDowell reacted to Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., deciding against voting for President Biden's Build Back Better agenda and said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-N.Y., was taken off guard by his decision due to a bias against people from the South on "The Five" Monday. 

"Ocasio-Cortez couldn't win one county in the state of West Virginia, and they made the critical mistake of underestimating somebody because of where they're from. And people from the South have historically used that to their advantage. Just like, 'please assume that I'm stupid because I talk funny. Please assume that you could get one over on me easily because I'm from Virginia or West Virginia', and then you sit back and you watch … their pomposity melt into horror when they realize they've lost," McDowell said. 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., walking down the House steps on Thursday, July 1, 2021.  ( Photo by Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Manchin made the announcement on "Fox News Sunday" with Bret Baier. 

"I've always said this, Bret, if I can't go home and explain to the people of West Virginia, I can't vote for it. And I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. I just can't. I've tried everything humanly possible. I can't get there … This is a no."

OMAR, SANDERS SLAM MANCHIN FOR REJECTING BUILD BACK BETTER: ‘I THINK IT’S BULL----‘

Democrats have a slim majority in the Senate. Of 100 senators, 50 are Republican, 48 are Democrats, and 2 are Independents who caucus with the left side of the aisle. This electoral makeup would make Manchin a key vote for Build Back Better. His decision not to support the bill effectively tanked its trajectory.

U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) delivers remarks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S. November 1, 2021. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

McDowell went on to slam the left's "temper tantrums" from Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Ayanna Pressley on national television. "Since whens do temper tantrums make you look strong? They look weak," she said.

Omar said Manchin cannot be trusted and his "excuses" were "bulls---." 

Ocasio-Cortez slammed the Senate as part of an "old boys' club."

Pressley piled onto the Manchin criticism and said that all she wants for Christmas is "a senator that has compassion for the American people and not contempt."

"[The Democrats are] a party controlled by petulant children … They're mad and  … blinded by ideology. And this is not the work of pragmatic people, danger is inside," McDowell said. 

 Build Back Better "Bill" at Capitol Hill on November 18, 2021 in Washington, DC.  (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Care In Action)

Manchin said in September that "spending trillions more on new and expanded government programs, [when] we can't even pay for the essential social programs like Social Security and Medicare, is the definition of fiscal insanity."

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A friend of Manchin's said that one of the straws that broke the BBB bill's trajectory was a statement put out by the Biden administration on Thursday that specifically named Manchin and called out "Republican opposition."

"Given the protests that Manchin’s family has experienced at his home, which is a boat in Washington Harbor ... I knew this presidential statement was personalizing the game. It put his family at risk, in my view," a Manchin confidant, Steve Clemons, said.

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Manchin also made it clear that he would not be bludgeoned into voting for BBB and accused the Biden White House of releasing "absolutely inexcusable" things about him to the press after the West Virginia senator backed out of its agenda. 

"Basically, they retaliated … I figured they would come back strong," Manchin said.

"Surely to God we can move one person, sure, that we can badger and beat one person up. Surely we can get enough protesters to make that person uncomfortable enough. They'll just say, 'OK, I'll vote for anything, just quit.' Well, guess what? I'm from West Virginia. I'm not from where they're from, and they can just beat the living crap out of people and think they'll be submissive, period," Manchin said.