He was trying to get them to go along with his plans? He was initially attacking them openly and got nowhere. Playing nicer worked in the case of Manchin. Manchin initially told Republicans he was done and wouldn’t work with Biden on a deal any longer. Then he came around and finally agreed to a $739 billion deal with Biden, including the most funding for climate change ever passed. I suppose Biden could have kept trash talking from the bully pulpit to make you feel better, but I’d prefer the hundreds of billions in climate change spending. I’m surprised Biden got anything through at all with Manchin and Sinema obstruction.

We’re very lucky Manchin or Sinema didn’t just switch parties outright and totally kill chances of passing anything at all. It was a tenous situation. The pivotal senator switching parties and giving control to the other party has happened before in a split senate like that (50-50 Republican Democrat). Biden hurling insults at them wouldn’t have accomplished anything. He even tried it for a bit and Manchin just clammed up. You can bet the Republicans were offering both of them tons of benefits to switch.