Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid claims he used to respect Mitt Romney until the former Massachusetts governor acquiesced to President-elect Donald Trump.
After Romney vowed during the presidential campaign to never vote for Trump and warned that a Trump win in November could result in “trickle-down racism” in the United States, he met with the president-elect Nov. 29 to discuss the possibility of becoming the next secretary of state.
Reid, who is retiring at the end of his term, scoffed at Romney for calling Trump a fraud during the presidential campaign and then eagerly offering himself up for the secretary of state post.
“This is man who came out big-time against Trump. Oh, the things he said about Trump. Well, that’s great, that’s wonderful,” the Nevada senator told The Huffington Post in an interview published Tuesday. “Either he wasn’t telling the truth, or he’s a person with no character. After having said that, to go and do homage to this guy he said awful things about, I don’t think that shows much character.”
“Mitt Romney is somebody I had respect for,” Reid said. “I have none anymore.”
It was a dubious claim. During the 2012 presidential race, Reid was the biggest attack dog on the left regarding Romney, the GOP candidate. He baselessly accused Romney of being a criminal during the campaign, claiming a Bain investor told him Romney hadn’t paid taxes for 10 years and that Romney manipulated his returns.
When asked last year if he regretted falsely accusing Romney of tax evasion, he infamously responded, “Romney didn’t win, did he?”
Reid later called the smears against Romney “one of the best things I’ve ever done.”
Romney issued a statement Tuesday explaining why he considered joining Trump’s Cabinet in light of his initial objections, arguing he could let bygones be bygones for the good of America.
“I was indeed very critical of Mr. Trump during his campaign. But now he has been elected president and accordingly, if I could have helped shape foreign policy to protect the country I love, I would have been more than willing to do so,” the statement said.
Romney touted Reid’s criticism as a badge of honor, saying he had lost respect for the Nevada senator in 2012.
“As for Mr. Reid, I lost respect for him when he repeatedly lied about my taxes and later admitted to it cheerily,” he said. “Good riddance, Mr. Reid. The Senate will be better served without you in it.”
Reid bid farewell to his colleagues Thursday after a 34-year career in Congress, the first four in the House and 30 years in the upper chamber.
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