Trump blasts the Democratic-led climate and tax bill, says 'old broken crow' Mitch McConnell was 'taken for a ride' by Joe Manchin

• Former President Trump blasted McConnell and Manchin over the Democratic-led climate and tax bill.
• Trump said McConnell was "taken for a ride" by Manchin, whom the ex-president said had "sold out."

Former President Donald Trump on Friday slammed the Democratic-led climate, health, and tax bill, arguing that Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky was "taken for a ride" by Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.

"The radical Democrats now intend to impose the biggest tax hike in American history, the exact opposite of what I did," Trump said at a "Save America" rally in suburban Milwaukee ahead of Wisconsin's primary election on Tuesday.

"And they are working feverishly to pile on more regulations at levels never seen before. You're going to have regulations like nobody's ever seen before."

The sweeping Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which was crafted by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Manchin, was prime fodder for the former president as he continues to hint at a 2024 presidential campaign.

Trump said that McConnell — a onetime political ally who has become a frequent target of the former president after lambasting his conduct on January 6, 2021 — was "taken for a ride" by Manchin, who came to an agreement with Schumer after weeks of negotiations that stunned senators on both sides of the aisle who assumed that an ambitious climate agenda was all but impossible before the midterm elections.

"Joe Manchin has totally sold out West Virginia," the former president said, who was stumping for Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels alongside Adam Steen, a GOP state House candidate looking to unseat state Assembly Speaker Robin Vos.

He continued: "What he's done to that state is disgraceful. And I told the old broken crow, Mitch McConnell, that this was going to happen. I said, 'It's going to happen to you, Mitch. It's going to happen to you.'"

For over a year, the more moderate Manchin has served as a Democratic bulwark against some of President Joe Biden's most ambitious domestic plans, notably after he torpedoed the Build Back Better Act, which before it fell apart was envisioned to cost nearly $2 trillion and would have funded climate initiatives, an expansion of the Affordable Care Act, and universal pre-K.

The new tax and climate bill — in its current form — would allow a three-year extension of subsidies for individuals to buy health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, while also providing nearly $370 billion for climate and energy programs and $300 billion to reduce the federal budget deficit. The bill would also generate roughly $739 billion in revenue over the next decade.

Republicans, who have been firmly opposed to the larger domestic Democratic spending bills, were taken aback by the legislative breakthrough between Schumer and Manchin last week.

When the agreement was announced, the Senate had just passed a $52 billion chips-funding bill that attracted significant Republican support; several GOP senators were incensed that news about the reconciliation deal came after the chamber passed the aforementioned legislation.

Regarding the timing of the announcement, Manchin said at a press event last Thursday that "there was no malice intended whatsoever."

"We should be looking for what's good for the country," he said at the time. "I'm hoping my Republican friends will look at this bill ... how it was presented and what's really in it."

Virtually all Senate Democrats were onboard with the proposal last week, but Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona for most of this week remained a key holdout, as she had previously expressed opposition to narrowing a carried-interest loophole favored by hedge fund managers and private equity investors.

Schumer, who needed Sinema's vote to proceed with the bill in the 50-50 Senate, stripped the carried interest provision from the bill at her request. The moderate lawmaker on Friday then agreed to support the bill, pending additional review from the Senate parliamentarian that it complies with the upper chamber's reconciliation rules.

Democrats are seeking to pass the legislation through the budget reconciliation process, which requires a simple majority and isn't subject to the 60-vote threshold needed to break a filibuster.