WASHINGTON (AP) – Departing Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid lashed out at Donald Trump on Friday as “a sexual predator who lost the popular vote and fueled his campaign with bigotry and hate.”
The Nevada Democrat said in a statement that “If Trump wants to roll back the tide of hate he unleashed, he has a tremendous amount of work to do and he must begin immediately.”
Reid said white nationalists, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Islamic State extremist group are celebrating Trump’s election, “while innocent, law-abiding Americans are wracked with fear.” That “does not feel like America,” Reid said.
Absent from the statement was any note of conciliation or a congratulatory olive branch.
The 76-year-old Reid is retiring at the end of this year after five terms, so unlike other congressional Democrats he has no imperative to try to make nice with Trump. That position allows him to give voice to bolder sentiments than other Democratic leaders who may need to try to work with Trump.