WASHINGTON _ Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has not been quiet about his criticism of GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, and Trump's response elicited another fiery statement from Reid Friday morning.
Trump said the Nevada Democrat should "go back and start working out again with his rubber work-out pieces," in an interview with The Washington Post Thursday. The statement is a likely reference to Reid's injury last year, when an exercise band broke, causing him to fall. Reid broke bones in his ribs and face, and is still blind in one eye.
"Donald Trump can make fun of the injury that crushed the side of my face and took the sight in my right eye all he wants _ I've dealt with tougher opponents than him," said Reid. The longtime senator, a former amateur boxer, famously battled the mob during his tenure as chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission.
"I may not be able to see out of my right eye," Reid said, "but with my good eye, I can see that Trump is a man who inherited his money and spent his entire life pretending like he earned it."
Reid went on to list a series of questions that must be answered regarding Trump's charity payments, business ties, refusal to release his tax returns, and why congressional Republicans are still supporting Trump.
"We know how to spot a con artist in Las Vegas," Reid concluded. "And Donald Trump is a con-artist."
Reid has accused Trump of being a con-artist before, and on Thursday he unleashed on Trump, calling him "a human leech who will bleed the country and sit at his golf resort laughing at the money he has made, even though working people have been hurt and ruined."
Reid also called Trump a "spoiled brat" and a "con man."
In the Washington Post interview, Trump was responding to comments Reid made earlier in the week about Trump's health. Reid was asked about Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's health, after her campaign revealed she had been diagnosed with pneumonia.
"You folks have magnified the problems that she has," Reid told reporters. "Take a look at this character that's running for president (Trump) complains about her health. What does he do? He's 70 years old. He's not slim and trim. He brags about eating faster every day."
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said Thursday that such comments damage Reid more than Trump.
"Harry Reid, for some time now, has been going beyond the line, making statements on the floor where words should be taken down," said Wicker, seemingly referring to a procedure where offensive remarks are asked to be removed from the congressional record.
"And to hear in the last few months of his career, sadly, it's gotten worse," Wicker said. "And it mainly looks bad for Senator Reid and his legacy."
