Reid spoke to reporters before appearing on a panel about Islam at the University of Las Vegas on Thursday night when he weighed in on House Democrats moving forward with an impeachment inquiry this week, The Nevada Independent reported.

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“I can’t imagine [impeachment] ever helping anyone,” Reid told reporters at the event, according to the news outlet. “With President [Bill] Clinton, the House brought up articles of impeachment — I sat as one of the leaders during the time of the impeachment, the trial took place in the Senate. With the focus on President Clinton, the American people just simply thought, ‘that’s not something we should be doing.’ "

"And in that case Clinton became more popular, not less popular," Reid noted. "I don’t see that happening now, because it’s a different type of impeachment proceedings.”

The former Senate Democratic leader maintained that he didn't think Pelosi had "rushed into" the impeachment inquiry, and predicted she would move forward cautiously.

"I think it speaks well of her that she believes enough’s enough, and that she initiated it,” Reid said, according to The Nevada Independent.

Pelosi announced Tuesday that House Democrats would move forward with a formal impeachment inquiry targeting Trump amid mounting scrutiny over the president's interactions with Ukraine.

Trump has denied wrongdoing, and insisted that his call with the Ukrainian president in late July was "perfect," while pushing back on the escalating impeachment efforts this week.

A flurry of Democrats came out in favor of impeachment efforts in recent days, including a number of Democrats in swing districts, saying the Ukraine allegations have bolstered the need for action.

Pelosi for months resisted calls from the progressive wing of the party to launch a formal impeachment effort amid concerns the effort could help fire up Trump's base in the 2020 election.

But that changed earlier this week amid multiple reports that Trump pressed Ukraine to look into Biden, a top political rival, in conversations earlier in the year.