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Harry Reid Explains His Evolution on Birthright Citizenship, Jabs Back at Trump

Reid issues response after Trump started tweeting about him

Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada invoked the name of Astrid Silva of Las Vegas, in responding to President Donald Trump on Wednesday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)
Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada invoked the name of Astrid Silva of Las Vegas, in responding to President Donald Trump on Wednesday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Former Sen. Harry Reid responded to President Donald Trump after the president invoked his past support for repealing birthright citizenship.

The former Senate majority leader and Democrat from Nevada long ago reversed his position on the issue, but Trump said in a Wednesday morning tweet, “Harry Reid was right in 1993, before he and the Democrats went insane and started with the Open Borders (which brings massive Crime) ‘stuff.’”

Reid bit back at that tweet.

“In 1993, around the time Donald Trump was gobbling up tax-free inheritance money from his wealthy father and driving several companies into bankruptcy, I made a mistake,” Reid said in a statement.

His wife Landra was immediately critical of “that awful bill,” Reid said referring to his immigration legislation. He said Landra pointed out that her own father had been an immigrant.

“And in my 36 years in Washington, there is no more valuable lesson I learned than the strength and power of immigrants and no issue and I worked harder on than fixing our broken immigration system,” Reid said. “I had the privilege of learning from heroes like Astrid Silva who came to this nation as a little girl and has emerged as a powerful leader.”

Silva is a leading DREAMer who has become a fixture in Nevada politics, and much of Reid’s political apparatus is now rooted in the Silver State’s Hispanic population.

Trump tweeted about Reid again Wednesday afternoon, linking to a clip of a Senate floor speech from back when he was supportive of overturning citizenship rights for children born on U.S. soil to foreign nationals.

As for Trump, Reid said, “He can tweet whatever he wants while he sits around watching TV, but he is profoundly wrong.”

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