"I think we should just kind of lay off Bernie Sanders a little bit," Reid told reporters after being asked whether he was concerned about Sanders’s "tenuous loyalty" to the Democratic Party.

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Reid has generally refused to criticize Sanders, telling reporters earlier this year that he was fine with the Vermont senator staying in the presidential race until the Democratic National Convention in July in Philadelphia.

He added Tuesday that Sanders is a "good person," saying "I have no criticism of Bernie at this stage."

Reid took a harsher stance with Sanders after a chaotic scene at Nevada's Democratic convention earlier this month. Sanders supporters turned out in force trying to win their candidate a few more delegates.

But Reid blamed those supporters for the situation at the convention and said he was “surprised” by Sanders’s “ silly statement ” defending them in the aftermath.

Reid said Saturday that the Nevada convention was “ fair ” to Sanders.

“We went out of our way to be fair to Bernie, even though the caucuses were won by Clinton in February,” he said at the time.