time tonight. thank you for joining us. thank you for having me. up next here tonight, we re going to have here on the passing of former senator and majority leader harry reid. we are going to be joined live by the current senator and majority leader chuck schumer. that s next. that s next. llerbal. because with the right pain reliever. life opens up. aleve it. and see what s possible.
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. 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. 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.
saying, we can t have trump again, we got to get rid of him because he s running down the republican party. that is true. 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. it reads harry reid is one of the most 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
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 had the opportunity to speak to senator reid last year. 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
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