CHARLESTON, W.Va. — U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is blasting his party’s outgoing Senate leader Senator Harry Reid (D-Nevada) after Reid released a statement that Manchin says verbally attacked President-Elect Donald Trump.
In Reid’s statement, he called Trump a “sexual predator” and suggested Trump to “roll back the tide of hate he unleashed.”
On Friday, Manchin responded to Reid’s statement:
“Senator Harry Reid’s statement today attacking President-elect Trump is wrong! It is an absolute embarrassment to the Senate as an institution, our Democratic party, and the nation. I want to be very clear, he does not speak for me,” Manchin said in a news release.
Manchin went on to say, “As difficult as it is for anyone to lose an election, the American people have spoken and Donald Trump is our President-elect. Senator Reid’s words needlessly feed the very divisiveness that is tearing this country apart. Now, more than ever, it is time for us all to come together as Americans. We must as Secretary Clinton and President Obama so graciously said, have an open mind and give President-elect Trump the chance to lead. To be clear, as I have always said and believed, I will work with anyone, no matter their party, to improve the lives of West Virginians and all Americans. Just as I will oppose anyone who may propose policies that hurt our nation; we are Americans first, not Democrats or Republicans first. Unfortunately, there are some who forget that at times like these it is wrong to put party and politics above our country.”
To view Senator Reid’s full statement, click here.