0 thank you all. that was great. appreciate it. all right, that is "allen in" on this tuesday night. condolences of course to harry reid's good evening, ayman. >> good evening. >> rachel has the night off and we start tonight with that very important breaking news. one of the things that was almost most surprising about the former senate majority leader harry reid was just how quiet he was. in fact, during interviews, it was not uncommon to be almost unable to hear him. that's how soft-spoken he actually was. but there was another side to harry reid in all of this. in fact, in the late 1970s, harry reid was the chair of the nevada gaming commission, overseeing the state's very important casinos. this is the story of a man who tried to bribe him from a new yorker profile back in 2005. in part, it reads, in july of 1978, a man named jack gordon, who was later married to latoya jackson, offered reid $12,000 to approve two new gaming devices for casino use. reid reported the attempted bribe to the fbi and arranged a meeting with gordon in his office. by agreement fbi agents burst in to arrest gordon at the point where reid asked, is this the money? although he was taking part in a sting, reid was unable to control his temper. the videotape shows him getting up from his chair and saying, "you son of a, bleep, he tried to bribe me." and attempting to choke gordon before startled agents could pull him off. i was so angry with him for thinking he could bribe me. he was quiet except when he wasn't. senator reid died today at the age of 82. he spent 30 years in the u.s. senate, eight of them as majority leader. he spent another five years in the house before that. and he earned a reputation as a gritty, determined, behind-the-scenes fighter in the capitol. now, that reputation was never more deserved than when he managed to steer president obama's landmark healthcare bill through the senate in 2009 over unified republican opposition, possibly his greatest legislative achievement. but harry reid was also -- will also be remembered for presiding over the senate during a time when republican reached new heights under president obama who reid had encouraged to run for president. i actually had the opportunity to speak with senator reid last year on election day. here's what he had to say about the republican party now. do you feel that the republicans have adequately resisted in any way, shape, or form what the president has done and said to try and paint this electoral system as rigged? >> the united states is a country that people look to with envy because of our two-party system. it's worked out well. i believe in the two-party system. the republican party, the democratic party is good for this country. donald trump is willing to brand the republican party. that's why you have the lincoln project and many other republicans who are outwardly saying, we can't have trump again, we got to get rid of him because he's running down the republican party. that's the truth. i think that where we've seen in the senate, my colleagues in the senate, i think they've been very disappointing to me. they should not put up with what trump has done. he's done so much damage to the institution of the senate and the country that republicans, except for mitt romney, nobody will speak out against him. >> and, as you can imagine, reaction is pouring in. in fact, harry reid's successor, as the democratic leader in the senate, chuck schumer, put out this statement tonight. on reid's passing, in part it reads, harry reid is one of the most amazing individuals i've ever met. he was caring and compassionate and always went out of his way quietly to help people who needed help. he was a boxer who came from humble origins. but he never forgot where he came from and used those boxing instincts to fearlessly fight those who were hurting the poor and the middle class. he was my leader, my mentor, one of my greatest, dearest friends. he is gone, but he will walk by the sides of many of us in the senate every single day. chuck schumer, of course, is now majority leader of an evenly divided 50/50 senate. it is worth noting here that the last time that happened, the last time the senate was split 50/50, republican senator jim jeffords of vermont switched parties and handed control of the senate to the democrats. the man who he did that switch happen was harry reid. reid even gave up his committee chairmanship to sweeten the deal and get jeffords to make that leap. but, of course, harry reid was not just a senate leader. he was a senator from nevada, and so of course he left his mark most especially on his home state and his constituents. in fact, just two weeks ago, las vegas renamed its airport in reid's honor. travelers to vegas will now fly into harry reid international airport. joining us now is john walton, ceo of the nevada independent and the dean of nevada political reporting. the first to report the news of reid's passing tonight. it's great to have you with us. i know it's such a sad night for your state and certainly for people across this country. let me start by getting your reaction and the reaction of people you are talking to in nevada tonight, the family and the constituents of that great state. >> well, you know, ayman, it is a sad night no matter how you felt about harry reid. he was a remarkable figure in nevada's history. you know, i'm writing a book about reid, and it's been clear to me for a while and even more so after the research i did that he is the most influential, most important public figure in the history of nevada and obviously because of his time in the u.s. senate, one of the most influential of the last quarter century or so. and you mentioned a lot in your intro of what makes him such a fascinating figure. one who doesn't lend himself to the social media clips of today, and you're already seeing the pro and the con. he was a very contradictory man. he was ruthless as any person i ever covered, and yet also there are so many stories of private kind gestures to people high and low of harry reid. i mean, all of the lore that you hear about harry reid, the son of a hard rock minor who grew up in abject poverty, who lost one senate race, then ran for mayor of las vegas and got crushed and should've disappeared from the political firmament resurrected by a governor, was the gaming regulatory chief, and, by the way, there is so much about his time there that is not known, including the story that you told about jack gordon and reid wanting to strangle him after the bribe attempt. there's a lot more to that, too. he is just one of those politicians who doesn't fit into some easy description on twitter or facebook. and there are so many stories that i know and have been told since i began to research this book. he truly is one of a kind, was one of a kind. >> yeah, and i want to speak to you a little bit about his legacy and how he changed our national politics, for good or for bad. but i do just want to go back to that point that you were talking about there and that is his humble beginning. his legacy in nevada really began all the way back with his tangling with the mob when he was the head of the nevada gaming commission. but, undoubtedly, it must've shaped his world view, his politics coming from such humble beginnings to the height of american legislative power. talk to me a little bit about this and his early legacy before he entered national politics. >> yeah. you're right on both of those things that you mentioned, the time in the gaming commission, but especially when his character, i believe, was forged in this tiny speck of a town in nevada called search light outside of las vegas where he lived most of his early life. he had to hitchhike to get to school. he had to learn to swim in a swimming pool at a brothel. all of those stories are true. but he really lived in horrific poverty with his family with an alcoholic father who would later commit suicide, and reid then committed himself to some legislation on suicide. and there's a lot more that he did. but that toughness, that grit, that no patience for anything or anyone except to continue moving forward in his life was forged in that tiny town of search light. and it certainly came out during his time as the state's chief gaming regulator when not only was that bribe attempt a part of history but his car, a bomb was planted in his car, and only by happenstance did that not blow up, and he told very poignantly of his little 5-year-old son peering out the window when law enforcement came to diffuse that bomb in his car. there is a famous video clip, i urge everyone to go see it, of harry reid confronting the mobster or mob front frank rosenthal during a gaming commission meeting. it is a fascinating piece of video. frank rosenthal, to make him more accessible, was the person of robert de niro's character "casino" was based on. it is really worth watching that clip to see the toughness of harry reid. >> and, jon, i mean no disrespect to the state of nevada and to the residents of that great state. but he also managed to get nevada to punch above its weight in our national political discourse. because even after his retirement, harry reid continued to play an extremely important role in nevada politics and the way that nevada politics impacted our national politics, his endorsements were key in the early nevada presidential primaries. everybody knew where to stop after iowa, and what happens after this, i guess, is really up for grabs. how does it change nevada democratic politics? and who's in line to take his place? >> that's a great question. there will never be another harry reid. and his dominance of nevada politics as a gatekeeper, as a person whose ring needed to be kissed. and even if you kissed his ring, he still might slap your face with his hand and say he's not going to support you. he was absolutely ruthless in that role as well. but he was a tremendously polarizing figure both nationally and in the state because of the way he just had no patience for the niceties, as his famous hanging up on people without saying good-bye from president obama all the way to some person that a friend of his who might've called him. there's no one who was going to replace harry reid. his machine is still intact, and the gears are still being oiled by the same people he put in place. but it'll never be the same. and, again, i've used this word way too often and i'll use it again i think for the third time in this interview. his ruthlessness was part of what defined him. but he always thought he was being ruthless in service of what he thought was the right goal, including, by the way, if i may say, his going nuclear in 2013, i believe, which many republicans now rejoice that he did, saying he's responsible for those three supreme court justices under the trump administration. when i interviewed him for the book, and i have 24 zooms on this computer with harry reid, which is more than he talked in almost his 35 years of service, he has no regrets, and i mean no regrets for doing that. but it'll be one of the things he's remembered for and not so favorably by members of his own party for many, many years. >> and, listen, two things. one, make sure you back up the hard drive on that computer because we are going to want to see every minute of those 24 zoom interviews you did with him because there is a lot of insight in those interviews, i'm sure. but i'm curious to get your thoughts on this, jon. when you look back at whether the way he changed or impacted the filibuster, his ability to pass the affordable healthcare, the obamacare bill, whether or not his views are, doing away with the filibuster right now, that he wrote about in september of this year. what do you think harry reid's legacy will be? what will he be remembered for on the national stage? >> well, i think some people will remember him for that and not in a good way. some people will blame his leadership style for the beginning of the degradation of the legislative process, the polarizing partisanship. but you cannot take away from him what his legislative genius was. barack obama would never have passed the healthcare bill that bears his name obamacare without harry reid. president obama would acknowledge that, and so would everyone else around him. his tenacity, his legislative skill, his essential legalized bribery of some of his colleagues to get their votes, ayman. i wrote back at the time and i believe now even having collected more data and reporting on what happened during then, it should be called reid care as much as it should be called obamacare. and maybe only harry reid possessed the skills that he honed over all those decades in public life and his dedication to knowing everything about the senate, only he could have gotten that done. >> i couldn't think of a better person to speak to tonight on the life and legacy of harry reid. thank you so much for joining us on this sad night for your state. greatly appreciate it, jon. >> i appreciate your having me. breaking news as we mentioned earlier out of nevada, longtime senate majority leader harry reid passing away this evening at the age of 82. when we come back, a big update from the cdc about the new omicron variant of the coronavirus. it's leading to a lot of questions, and we will get some experts to try and answer those questions for you. but first, unfortunately, one more thing to share in addition to news of harry reid's passing. sad news tonight for football fans around the world. john madden, the legendary coach and broadcaster, died today at the age of 85. madden, of course, rose to fame by winning the super bowl in 1977 as coach of the oakland raiders at the time, he then embarked on a decades-long career as the league's signature broadcaster. in fact, madden called 11, 11 super bowls between 1979 and 2009. he also became the face of the popular madden video game franchise for younger generations. the nfl commissioner roger goodell in a statement said there will never be another john madden. we will all be indebted for what he did to make football and nfl what it is today. hall of fame coach and broadcaster john madden was 85. we'll be right back. k. the brand i trust is qunol.