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Manchin recalls close ties with ‘outsider’ Trump, cold shoulder from Obama in new book
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Former Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., said he spoke more with President Donald Trump in the first two years of Trump’s term than with former President Barack Obama during Obama’s eight years in office.
In his new book, «Dead Center: In Defense of Common Sense,» released this week, Manchin outlined a cordial working relationship with Trump and a far chillier, less active back and forth with Obama.
Manchin, who switched from the Democratic Party to become an Independent before retiring from the Senate last year, wrote that he considered Trump a fellow «outsider» when he arrived in Washington, D.C., for his first term and lauded him as the «most engaged president I ever worked with» since former President Bill Clinton.
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Former Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., detailed a cordial relationship with President Donald Trump in his new book. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
«From the start, President Trump had an open line of communication with me,» he wrote. «I spoke to him more in the first two years of his presidency than I did to President Obama during all eight years of his time in office.»
He noted, «If you want to have influence with Donald Trump, you have to be the last person he talks to about a topic,» and said he would jokingly ask that the president ensure he was the last person he called.
«He’d laugh, and we’d talk it out,» he said.
He recalled his 2018 election campaign in the wake of Trump’s dominant, 40-point win in the state. Trump told Manchin that he was being pressured to campaign against him and promised he wouldn’t. Ultimately, Trump visited the state five times, but Manchin still came out on top.
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Former Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., detailed a more cordial relationship with President Donald Trump than his distant relationship with former President Barack Obama. (St. Martin’s Press)
He was later invited to the Oval Office to meet with Trump, where, in front of then-Vice President Mike Pence and Ivanka Trump, the president «blurted to his other guests, ‘I told you we couldn’t beat him,’» Manchin wrote.
Manchin’s relationship with the former president goes back to his time as governor of West Virginia, when Obama was still a senator. The two worked together on a coal deal in Illinois that had previously excluded West Virginia.
During the 2008 election cycle, he said he invited both then-Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Obama to come to West Virginia to campaign, but said Obama shook off the invitation and told him, «Let’s be honest with each other — my demographics don’t work well in your state.»
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Former President Barack Obama speaks at the Obama Foundation Democracy Forum on Dec. 5, 2024, in Chicago. (Erin Hooley/AP Photo)
«But he didn’t come, and that night belonged to Hillary,» he wrote. «She made the most of her visit and won the primary by 41 points.»
He said their relationship became even chillier when Obama launched his «war on coal» with a push for green initiatives that targeted fossil fuels and states like West Virginia.
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Manchin argued that the Democratic Party had grown dismissive and lost touch with the working class as a means to reshape their agenda through a progressive lens. That led to a seismic shift in West Virginia’s political alignment, from Democratic to now largely Republican, he said.
And in the process that began when Obama won in 2008, he said that rural states like his felt «overlooked and undervalued.»
«But that’s exactly how Democrats handled West Virginia, and no one embodied that disconnect more than President Obama,» he wrote.
Fox News Digital reached out to Obama’s office and the White House for comment but did not immediately hear back.
senate,donald trump,barack obama,politics
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Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said Iran could have hit Washington, D.C., and other major U.S. cities with intermediate-range ballistic missiles through proxies in Venezuela if the administration had not intervened in both countries.
Speaking at the CERAWeek oil and energy conference in Houston on Wednesday, Burgum pushed back on the narrative that Iran and Venezuela do not represent an imminent threat to the U.S. and global supply chains. He said the threat was demonstrated by Iran’s attempt to strike the U.S. military base Diego Garcia in the central Indian Ocean, more than 2,000 miles from the Middle Eastern country.
«That means, you know, Venezuela was a hotbed of Iranian-funded terror groups, including Hamas. If there was an Iranian ballistic missile placed in Venezuela, it could not just reach Houston; it can reach Washington, D.C.,» said Burgum.
«So, again, the actions that the United States is taking to make the world safer is lowering the risk premium that I think was missing from the [oil and energy] market. Because, maybe, the market wasn’t recognizing the risk.»
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Left: Israeli air defense systems are activated to intercept Iranian missiles over Tel Aviv on June 16, 2025. Right: The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. (Menahem Kahanna/AFP via Getty Images; Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Burgum accused Iran, whose government he said is in shambles following intense U.S.-Israeli bombardment, of lying to the world about its missile capability.
«They said during negotiations last year, they told the international agencies, they said it right before the negotiations broke down, ‘Oh, don’t worry, we could only go 1,200 miles.’ And then they launched two missiles at Diego Garcia at 2,400 miles. That means they can hit London,» he explained.
The Islamic Republic of Iran escalated its conflict with the U.S. by launching two intermediate-range ballistic missiles Friday toward Diego Garcia, a key U.S.-U.K. military base in the Indian Ocean. Targeting Diego Garcia, roughly 2,500 miles from Iran, suggests Tehran’s missile capabilities may exceed previously acknowledged limits.
IRAN-LINKED INFLUENCE CAMPAIGN PUSHES ANTI-ISRAEL MESSAGING DISGUISED AS US VOICES: REPORT
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum speaks after meeting with Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas on March 4, 2026. (Federico Parra/AFP via Getty Images)
Houston, where Burgum was speaking, is roughly 2,200 miles from Venezuela, while the nation’s capital is just over 2,000 miles away, placing both cities within range of intermediate-range ballistic missiles fired from Venezuela. Other major U.S. cities within range include Miami, roughly 1,300 miles away; New York City, about 2,100 miles; and possibly Chicago, slightly more than 2,600 miles.
On Jan. 3, Trump launched a covert military operation in Venezuela that resulted in the arrest of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
Burgum said that, because of the administration’s military action, Venezuela is no longer a serious missile threat to the U.S. and is now a potentially significant oil and energy partner.
TRUMP ENERGY CZAR SAYS IRAN CONFLICT GAS SPIKE IS ‘TEMPORARY BLIP’ AS DRILLING PUSH RAMPS UP
President Donald Trump with military members after the capture of Venezuela’s Maduro in January. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
The secretary said that during a recent trip to Venezuela with oil executives, interim President Delcy Rodríguez signaled the country has the capacity and is eager for U.S. investment in developing its oil and gas reserves.
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«The resources there are quite amazing,» he said. «And from that trip we did… we were able to bring home $100 million of gold, physically, the gold, to bring back for U.S. refiners for commercial and consumer purposes. So, the level of cooperation is going.»
war with iran, iran, venezuelan political crisis, conflicts, donald trump, washington dc
INTERNACIONAL
Ministro de Economía advierte que frenar de golpe el crecimiento de la deuda sería traumático para Panamá
El ministro de Economía y Finanzas, Felipe Chapman, advirtió que, aunque el fenómeno inflacionario y el encarecimiento del combustible responden a factores externos, el impacto sobre la economía panameña podría intensificarse si se prolonga el conflicto en Medio Oriente entre Irán, Estados Unidos e Israel, obligando al Estado a incrementar el gasto en subsidios para evitar un golpe directo al costo de vida.
Según explicó, se trata de una situación que exige prudencia fiscal, disciplina en el manejo del presupuesto y evitar decisiones impulsivas que comprometan la sostenibilidad económica.
Chapman fue claro en que el país no debe caer en medidas desesperadas ni en desviaciones de su hoja de ruta económica, insistiendo en que Panamá mantiene una estrategia definida para reducir el déficit y desacelerar el crecimiento de la deuda.
“No es una sorpresa que la deuda haya alcanzado ciertos niveles, forma parte de un plan estructurado”, sostuvo, al reiterar que la prioridad es reducir gradualmente su ritmo de crecimiento sin provocar un choque abrupto en la economía.
Para febrero de 2026 la deuda alcanzó cerca de $60,059 millones, lo que implicó un incremento de más de $8,100 millones en poco más de año y medio.
Este aumento, aunque menor en ritmo frente al registrado en el quinquenio anterior, evidencia que la presión fiscal sigue presente y que la estrategia actual se ha centrado más en reordenar el perfil de la deuda que en reducir su saldo de forma inmediata.
El titular del MEF explicó que el conflicto internacional ya está teniendo efectos concretos en el país, especialmente en el costo de los combustibles, lo que obliga al gobierno a aumentar el subsidio al transporte público, incluyendo MiBus y el Metro de Panamá, así como al tanque de gas de 25 libras, utilizado por la mayoría de los hogares.
“Si el Estado no absorbe ese impacto, el costo del pasaje subiría y también el precio del gas y la electricidad”, advirtió, dejando claro que el gasto público ya está aumentando para contener esos efectos.
En años recientes, el subsidio al transporte público ha representado más de $300 millones anuales, considerando los aportes al Metro de Panamá y al sistema MiBus, mientras que el subsidio al tanque de gas de 25 libras ha superado los $80 millones al año, dependiendo del comportamiento del precio internacional del petróleo.
Bajo el escenario actual, estas cifras podrían incrementarse de forma significativa si el conflicto geopolítico se extiende y presiona aún más los mercados energéticos.
Chapman enfatizó que el costo de estos subsidios es altamente variable y depende directamente del precio del petróleo, el cual puede cambiar de forma drástica en cuestión de días.
“No es lo mismo un barril a $80 que a $120 o $150”, explicó, subrayando que el Estado no puede proyectar con precisión el gasto total en este contexto. En ese sentido, insistió en que sería irresponsable fijar cifras estáticas cuando el entorno internacional es tan volátil.
En cuanto al crecimiento económico, el ministro señaló que antes del estallido del conflicto, proyecciones de entidades internacionales situaban el crecimiento del Producto Interno Bruto (PIB) de Panamá alrededor del 5% para 2026, pero reconoció que ese escenario ahora debe ser revisado. Aunque mantiene una visión moderadamente optimista, admitió que el resultado final dependerá de la duración del conflicto y su impacto sobre la inflación y la economía global.
Sin embargo, Chapman también advirtió que un crecimiento económico demasiado acelerado podría ser contraproducente. “Si Panamá crece por encima del 6%, se podría generar inflación interna, y el país no cuenta con herramientas monetarias para contenerla”, explicó.
Por ello, planteó que el rango óptimo para la economía panameña se sitúa en un crecimiento superior al 5%, pero por debajo del 6%, lo que permitiría expandir la actividad sin presionar excesivamente los precios.
El ministro defendió que la estrategia del gobierno es mantener un equilibrio entre crecimiento y estabilidad, evitando medidas populistas como aumentar el déficit fiscal sin respaldo.
“No vamos a prometer cosas que no se pueden cumplir”, sostuvo, al referirse a propuestas de ampliar subsidios sin un sustento financiero claro. En ese sentido, reiteró que cualquier apoyo adicional deberá estar acompañado de recortes en otras áreas del gasto público, ya que los recursos del Estado son limitados.
Además, señaló que el gobierno ya ha logrado incrementar los ingresos en cerca de 14%, lo que forma parte del esfuerzo por mejorar la sostenibilidad fiscal. No obstante, insistió en que el crecimiento económico sigue siendo clave para mejorar la calidad de vida de la población, incluso si sus efectos no se perciben de forma inmediata.
“Si la economía no crece, la situación sería peor”, afirmó, al reconocer que muchos ciudadanos aún no sienten los beneficios de esa expansión.
En paralelo, Chapman descartó escenarios de desabastecimiento de combustible en Panamá, asegurando que en el continente americano existe suficiente oferta para cubrir la demanda. No obstante, reiteró que el verdadero riesgo no es la disponibilidad, sino el precio, que seguirá sujeto a la evolución del conflicto en Medio Oriente y a las tensiones en los mercados internacionales.
Finalmente, el ministro subrayó que el país debe mantenerse en una línea de cautela, disciplina y planificación, evitando decisiones improvisadas en un contexto global incierto. A su juicio, el reto no es solo enfrentar el impacto inmediato del alza en los combustibles, sino garantizar que las finanzas públicas se mantengan sostenibles en el mediano plazo, sin comprometer la estabilidad económica ni trasladar el costo de la crisis a los ciudadanos.
Las palabras de Felipe Chapman se dieron durante su intervención en el Foro Económico 2026, organizado por la Asociación Panameña de Ejecutivos de Empresa (APEDE), un espacio que reunió a autoridades, expertos y líderes empresariales para analizar el rumbo de la economía panameña en un contexto marcado por cambios geopolíticos, desafíos estructurales y nuevas oportunidades de inversión.
Desde este escenario, se planteó la necesidad de tomar decisiones estratégicas que permitan sostener el crecimiento en los próximos años.
La presidenta de APEDE, Giulia De Sanctis, subrayó que este tipo de foros son clave para elevar la calidad del debate económico en el país y generar propuestas concretas.
A su juicio, Panamá tiene el potencial de seguir creciendo, pero advirtió que ese crecimiento debe traducirse en bienestar real para la población, lo que requiere decisiones basadas en datos, instituciones sólidas y una visión de largo plazo que fortalezca la confianza y promueva la inversión.
En la misma línea, el presidente de la Comisión de Asuntos Económicos y Finanzas Nacionales de APEDE, Jorge Nicolau, explicó que el foro buscó abrir un espacio de análisis informado y diálogo técnico que permita identificar oportunidades reales para el país.
El enfoque, según indicó, está en orientar decisiones económicas sostenibles, tomando en cuenta un entorno global cada vez más dinámico y competitivo, donde Panamá debe redefinir su posicionamiento.
El evento también incorporó una agenda enfocada en temas clave como la inversión extranjera directa, las perspectivas económicas y el rol de Panamá en la región, incluyendo la participación de expertos nacionales e internacionales.
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INTERNACIONAL
Iran-linked influence campaign pushes anti-Israel messaging disguised as US voices: report
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A new analysis of social media activity during the opening days of Operation Epic Fury suggests that much of the online backlash and anti-Israel content may not have been driven by Americans at all.
The report identified recurring narratives pushed by foreign-based accounts, including claims that the operation was a «betrayal of MAGA,» «highly unpopular with the American people» and carried out «on behalf of Israel.»
Sixty percent of the most viral posts on X mentioning «Iran» during the first week of the operation originated from accounts based outside the United States — despite often presenting themselves as American voices, according to research conducted by Argyle Consulting Group, a private intelligence and data analysis firm.
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«These aren’t just random opinions,» Eran Vasker, CEO and co-founder of Argyle Consulting Group, told Fox News Digital.
«What we’re seeing is discourse that looks American — written in English, using U.S. political language — but is actually coming from outside the country … almost impossible for a regular user to detect,» Vasker said, explaining that the accounts «look very American» and mirror domestic political language and debates.
A new analysis of social media activity during the opening days of Operation Epic Fury suggests that much of the online backlash and anti-Israel content may not have been driven by Americans at all. (Lori Van Buren/Times Union)
The analysis examined 100 highly X viral posts — each with more than 10,000 shares — between Feb. 28 and March 7. In total, posts containing the word «Iran» generated 98 million posts, 696.4 million interactions, and an estimated 1.5 trillion potential views, making it one of the largest online information events on record.
Foreign accounts alone generated 155.6 million views, compared to 93.4 million from U.S.-based accounts, outpacing them by more than 60 million views in the sample.
Even more striking, every single foreign-based post in the dataset was negative toward the operation, while the only supportive content came from U.S.-based users, Argyle found.
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Among the most influential voices driving engagement, seven of the top 10 accounts were based outside the United States, including accounts linked to Russia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and South Asia, Argyle found. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)
JP Castellanos, Binary Defense director of threat intelligence and a former member of U.S. Central Command’s Active Cyber Defense Team, said much of the activity is focused on Israel and combines disruption with messaging.
«About 42% of the attacks that we’re seeing or the claims that we’re seeing online are directed toward Israel,» Castellanos said.
He also pointed to doxing campaigns and AI-generated videos «trying to basically shape the information space.»
Much of the challenge, Castellanos said, is distinguishing real cyber incidents from inflated online claims by hacktivist groups seeking attention.
«A lot of times, these are just claims that they put online,» he said.
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Cyber threat analysts say that an online narrative campaign is unfolding alongside broader activity by pro-Iranian and aligned groups across the digital space. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)
Researchers said the scale, consistency and geographic spread of the messaging point to a coordinated effort rather than organic global debate.
Cyber threat analysts say that an online narrative campaign is unfolding alongside broader activity by pro-Iranian and aligned groups across the digital space.
One of the most prominent groups to emerge in the current conflict, Castellanos said, is Handala, an Iran-linked hacking operation that has claimed responsibility for attacks on both U.S. and Israeli targets.
Among the most influential voices driving engagement, seven of the top 10 accounts were based outside the United States, including accounts linked to Russia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and South Asia.
U.S. authorities and cybersecurity firms have linked Handala to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, describing it as part of a broader effort combining cyberattacks with psychological and information operations.
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The report identified recurring narratives pushed by foreign-based accounts, including claims that the operation was a «betrayal of MAGA,» «highly unpopular with the American people» and carried out «on behalf of Israel.» (Asra Q. Nomani/Fox News Digital)
The cybersecurity researchers told Fox News Digital Handala is part of a wider network of Iran-aligned and pro-Russian hacktivist groups that have mobilized since the start of the war, blending disruptive cyber activity with narrative-shaping campaigns online.
Fox News Digital reached out to X multiple times, providing a list of the accounts in question per their request, but has not yet received a response.
war with iran, cybercrime, terrorism, anti semitism
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