Manchin appears to square up against climate protester after being called a 'sick f---'
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., appeared to square up against a climate protester after being confronted during an appearance at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Friday.
A video posted on X, formerly Twitter, by climate change group Climate Defiance, shows an activist approaching Manchin during the round-table discussion.
"Joe Manchin, you sold our futures and got rich doing it," the protester told the senator. "You sick f---. How dare you?"
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Manchin immediately stood up and began to make his way toward the activist before a man stepped between the two.
"You sold our futures," the activist proceeded before being shoved to the ground.
The edited video cuts to Manchin speaking with the activists, saying, "Y'all want to sit down somewhere and talk?"
"I'm not going to sit down," one activist responds. "You've received more funding from fossil fuels than any other senator."
"You've made millions, you've made millions out of your position. You drive a Maserati," another activist tells Manchin.
"Oh my goodness," Manchin is heard saying in response.
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The activists specifically honed in on questioning the senator over the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Manchin played a role in securing the pipeline in the Fiscal Responsibility Act, filing his own amicus brief in the Supreme Court case last year.
"Do you think people support this pipeline?" one activist asked the senator directly.
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Manchin began to explain why people should support the pipeline before being cut off by the same activist.
"They don't support it," the activist said.
The activists are then heard chanting, "Not our futures, not your profits" as Manchin shakes individuals' hands before appearing to head out.
"Earlier today, protesters disrupted for a few minutes an IOP study group in which Senator Joe Manchin was the guest speaker," a statement released by Harvard stated. "A Harvard University police officer ordered the protesters to leave the Kennedy School campus, and the protesters complied. Senator Manchin continued his discussion with IOP students after the disruption. The Harvard University Police Department and the Kennedy School are reviewing the incident."
Fox News Digital reached out to Manchin's office, Harvard Police Department, the Kennedy Institute of Politics, and Climate Defiance for additional comment.
Manchin was scheduled to appear alongside Resident Fellow Alison King at the Kennedy School on Friday, wherein they would cover who Manchin expects to back in the 2024 election among other topics, according to the Institute's promo of the event.
Climate Defiance also confronted Manchin in January, saying the organization had surrounded him in New Hampshire in an effort to confront him over energy and climate policy. Climate Defiance said its members had cornered Manchin, forcing him to hide in an "old" building in Goffstown, New Hampshire. This came shortly after the senator addressed the New Hampshire Institute of Politics’ "Politics & Eggs" forum which is often attended by presidential candidates.
The West Virginia senator settled speculation of a potential presidential run of his own last month, saying he would "not be seeking a third-party run, I will not be involved in a presidential run."
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Manchin made the announcement during a speech at West Virginia University as part of his "listening tour" that kicked off in January with his daughter's campaign group "Americans Together" — a movement that touts itself as the "moderate majority" that rejects the "extremism in politics."
He had previously stated he would tap Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, or former Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman to be his vice presidential running mate in a hypothetical run.
As of late February, Manchin has yet to endorse President Joe Biden, telling CNN's Kaitlan Collins, "I’m not endorsing anybody, right now. We’re going to see what all happens."
Manchin — who has previously said a president should possess the "knowledge," "passion," and "ability" necessary to unite the divided populace — said he still has reservations about Biden's increasingly polarizing policies.
"I’ve had this conversation with him and with his people that he’s gone too far to the left. They’ve pushed him, and pulled him, and whatever," Manchin said. "But that’s not where America is. That’s not where our country is."
Fox News' Jamie Joseph and Thomas Catennaci contributed to this report.