FACT CHECK: Was Harry Reid ‘Thrown Out’ Of Congress?
President Donald Trump claimed Monday that former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was “thrown out” of Congress.
Former Senator Harry Reid (he got thrown out) is working hard to put a good spin on his failed career. He led through lies and deception, only to be replaced by another beauty, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer. Some things just never change!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 25, 2019
“Former Senator Harry Reid (he got thrown out) is working hard to put a good spin on his failed career,” Trump tweeted. “He led through lies and deception, only to be replaced by another beauty, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer. Some things just never change!”
Verdict: False
Reid announced his retirement from the Senate in 2015, almost two years before his term was up in 2017.
Fact Check:
Trump’s claim came after Reid sat down for an interview with CNN where he said “the vast majority of the people know something’s wrong with Trump” and that he misses President George W. Bush, whom he notoriously disliked.
In the same interview, Reid said that his pancreatic cancer, which was diagnosed in 2018, is currently in remission.
Reid served in Congress from 1983 to 2017, representing his home state of Nevada. He spent two terms in the House of Representatives before joining the Senate in 1987. He served as both the Senate minority leader (2005-2007, 2015-2017) and Senate majority leader (2007-2015).
In an announcement video uploaded on March 27, 2015, Reid cited injuries from a recent exercise accident as giving him down time to think, which led to his decision to not run for re-election in 2016.
“We have to make sure that the Democrats take control of the Senate again, and I feel it is inappropriate for me to soak up all those resources on me when I could be devoting those resources to the caucus,” he said.
“The decision that I have made has absolutely nothing to do with my injury, it has nothing to do with my being minority leader, and it certainly has nothing to do my ability to be re-elected,” Reid added, “because the path to re-election is much easier than it probably has been any time that I’ve ever run for re-election.”
Reid won his 2010 race by 5.7 percentage points over the Republican challenger, Sharron Angle. Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto won Reid’s seat in 2016.
Though Reid has been retired for all of Trump’s presidency, he has not shied away from criticizing Trump, calling him a “spoiled brat” and a “con man.”
“I think he is without question the worst president we’ve ever had,” Reid told The New York Times in a recent interview.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
