Opinion | The president had a chance to pass his agenda when his approval rating was at its highest. Without the public's support, it's hard for him to convince members of Congress to fall in line. - NBCNewsTHINK
The filibuster is a Senate rule that requires 60 votes to bring any proposed legislation to a vote, but it would require onlyand a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Kamala Harris to change it. Biden's opposition to the filibuster had no legal or governance weight behind it. It was simply one man, albeit a very powerful one, stating his opinion and trying to influence the views of Democratic senators.
Any conversation between Biden and Manchin or Sinema would have looked a lot different in spring of 2021 than today. Back then, Biden could plausibly say that he had the American people, including the voters in Arizona, and perhaps even West Virginia, behind him and that aaround voting rights. Moreover, as a popular president, Biden could have helped build that consensus by speaking about voting rights and democracy back when Americans were listening to him.