WATCH: Joe Manchin fires back at the NRA
The gun-rights superpower helped negotiate Manchin's background-check bill, then sank it, then attacked the West Virginia Democrat on TV


The Senate's package of gun control legislation prompted by the mass murder of 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School may or may not be dead, but the relationship between the National Rifle Association and former A-rated advocate Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) sure seems like it's on life support.
Sandy Hook, Manchin said in December, made him rethink his opposition to gun-safety legislation, and he pledged to sit down with his "friends at the NRA" and work out "a sensible, reasonable approach" to curbing gun violence. The NRA did indeed work with Manchin and Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) to draft a bill strengthening federal background checks on gun buyers.
Things went downhill from there. The NRA became a driving force behind sinking the Manchin-Toomey legislation, along with the broader package of gun-control measures. Then, last week, the NRA started running ads against Manchin in West Virginia, promising to spend $100,000 to run the attack ad in heavy rotation. "Manchin is working with President Obama and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg," the ad says. "Concerned? You should be. Tell Sen. Manchin to honor his commitment to the Second Amendment and reject the Obama-Bloomberg gun control agenda."
Manchin isn't up for re-election until 2018, but on Thursday morning, he struck back, debuting his own ad suggesting that he's more in line with gun owners than "the NRA's Washington leadership." (Watch the ad above) "They just don't want to get involved," he said on MSNBC's Morning Joe, which showcased the ad. "They want this paranoia going on, and I'm not going to stand back and let them." He said he's also spending $100,000 on his ad buy.
Here's Politico's Mike Allen and the Morning Joe crew with some background on the NRA's feud with Manchin:
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Quiz of The Week: 4 – 10 October
Quiz Have you been paying attention to The Week’s news?
-
Lee Miller at the Tate: a ‘sexy yet devastating’ show
The Week Recommends The ‘revelatory’ exhibition tells the photographer’s story ‘through her own impeccable eye’
-
The Week Unwrapped: Who had the last laugh in Riyadh?
Podcast Plus are imported eggs undermining animal welfare? And what can we do about AI deepfakes?
-
Ghislaine Maxwell: angling for a Trump pardon
Talking Point Convicted sex trafficker's testimony could shed new light on president's links to Jeffrey Epstein
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?
In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?
Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?
Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
-
Democrats vs. Republicans: which party are the billionaires backing?
The Explainer Younger tech titans join 'boys' club throwing money and support' behind President Trump, while older plutocrats quietly rebuke new administration
-
US election: where things stand with one week to go
The Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
-
Is Trump okay?
Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event