During an interview on CNN’s “At This Hour,” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) argued that polls showing the race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump tightening are “a joke,” “cheap polls” designed only to make news, and are “not fair.”
Reid was asked if his strong rhetoric towards Trump was a sign that “Democrats are getting very nervous that Donald Trump is doing a lot better in the polls?”
Reid responded, “Donald Trump will never be elected president of the United States. We’re going to retake the Senate. You know, Manu, we’ve talked, all these polls are a joke, a joke. We know he can’t be elected president. Republicans don’t like him. I saw on TV last night, they’re going to the most Republican county in Ohio that’s always gone Republican, it may not even go Republican.”
After CNN Senior Political Reporter Manu Raju countered that battleground state polls are tightening, and Trump is ahead and Florida and Ohio, Reid objected, “They’re tightening because people like the ones you work for get these cheap polls that they can keep making news on. Donald Trump will never be elected president of the United States. I have an obligation to tell everyone that will listen to me, to make sure they understand that he is not a person of quality. He’s a bully. He’s an egomaniac. He was born into wealth. He was born into wealth. He’s lived in those mansions his whole life. He does not have any concept of what it is to have to work for a living.”
Raju later asked Reid about his ‘concerns about Hillary Clinton’s numbers right now. She is struggling. Why do you think — what does she need to do –.” Reid cut in, “But Manu, no, you listen to me. You keep going back to your numbers. Your numbers are not fair. They’re not reliable.”
When asked what Clinton needs to do differently, Reid responded that Clinton is “doing a good job.” He further stated, “I don’t buy your silliness, with your $500 polls you go out and buy overnight. I don’t believe them. They’re not right. They’re incorrect. You only do it to generate some news.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett