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White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Saturday said President Biden’s comments on the coal industry had been “twisted” after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) earlier in the day criticized the remarks.
“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 said in a statement.
Biden said on Friday that wind and solar are cheaper means of generating energy than coal and oil and that “no one is building new coal plants because they can’t rely on it.”
Referring to coal plants, he said, “we’re going to be shutting these plants down all across America and having wind and solar.”
Manchin called the comments “offensive and disgusting,” accusing the president of taking the livelihoods of West Virginians lightly.
