Harry Reid: Trump ‘Not as Bad as I Thought He Would Be’

Here is a partial list of all the things Harry Reid has said about Donald Trump in the past year:

• “This is a path [Mitch McConnell] has chosen for his party, a path of demagoguery and lapsed constitutional duties, a path he forged which led to the rise of Donald Trump.”
• Trump is “the natural evolution of a party that spent eight years honing a platform that is anti-immigrant and anti-woman, anti-Obama and anti-working people.”
• “I have never ever seen a more flawed candidate than Donald Trump, never. I mean, this is a scary thing that 87 percent of the Republicans… think he’s great.”
• “I would suggest to the intelligence agencies, if you’re forced to brief this guy, don’t tell him anything, just fake it, because this man is dangerous.”
• “Trump knew that hateful rhetoric and dangerous policies are the way to win in today’s GOP.”
• “Since Donald Trump wants to impose new tests on immigrants, he should take the one test every immigrant has to pass to become a United States citizen. He would almost certainly fail, given his general ignorance and weak grasp of basic facts about American history, principles and functioning of our government.”
• “He complains about her health? What does he do? He’s 70 years old, he’s not slim and trim, he brags about eating fast food every day. Look at his health a little bit.”
• “Trump is a human leech who will bleed the country and sit and his golf resort laughing at the money he has made.”
  “Donald Trump is a racist.”
• “Senate Republicans have put party so far ahead of country, they’ve endorsed a racist, incompetent failure who managed to lose a billion dollars in a boom year.”
• “If this is going to be a time of healing, we must first put the responsibility for healing where it belongs: at the feet of Donald Trump, a sexual predator who lost the popular vote and fueled his campaign with bigotry and hate.”

Well, in an interview with NPR today upon his big exit from the Senate, despite his continued criticisms of Trump, Reid said this (emphasis added):

“I have to say this. He’s not as bad as I thought he would be… We heard from Trump that one of the first things he was going to do is repeal [the DREAMers] executive order. In an interview he had with Time magazine in the last day or two, he said, “Nah, I’m not going to do that.” Those young people deserve to stay here. He’s not going to prosecute Hillary Clinton criminally, as he said he would do. Obviously he didn’t believe in all of the stuff he said, which is a step in the right direction…

“It’s not as if Donald Trump and I have been enemies our whole lives. You know, he’s done fundraisers for me. When I was elected last time he sent me a letter saying “you’re awesome”… It’s not as if I have hate in my soul for Donald Trump. I hope, beyond all, that he does well. It’s important to the stability of this great nation we have. And I’m hopeful––I keep using that word, but that’s what it is––hopeful that he will lessen his rhetoric and work toward a safer, more productive America.”

Listen above, via NPR.

[image via screengrab]

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac