Donald Trump’s campaign manager appeared to threaten the Senate minority leader, who on Friday called Trump ‘a sexual predator who lost the popular vote’

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Senior Donald Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway on Sunday appeared to threaten Senate minority leader Harry Reid with legal action for criticizing the president-elect, saying the senator should be “very careful about characterizing somebody in a legal sense”.

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In response, a Reid spokesman said: “Trump owes the nation leadership, not petty attempts to silence his critics.”

Reid did not seek re-election for his Nevada Senate seat this year, but was succeeded by a Democrat there.

In a statement released on Friday, after Trump visited Washington before returning to transition planning, Reid said: “If this is going to be a time of healing, we must first put the responsibility for healing where it belongs, at the feet of Donald Trump, a sexual predator who lost the popular vote and fueled his campaign with bigotry and hate.”

Trump is on course to lose the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by about 2m ballots, as votes are continuing to be counted, but he defeated Clinton by at least 290-228 in the electoral college, winning the presidency.

Over the course of his campaign, Trump proposed a ban on Muslims entering the country, called Mexicans “rapists” and criminals, encouraged the “birther” conspiracy about Barack Obama, has been slow to disavow expressions of support from far right groups and has been accused of using antisemitic imagery in ads and on social media.

After the publication of an Access Hollywood tape in which Trump bragged about making sexual advances without consent, 13 women came forward to accuse him of inappropriate sexual behaviour or assault. Trump has denied all the claims and threatened to sue his accusers.

Conway told Fox News Sunday that Reid’s comments deserved repudiation from Barack Obama, because “everybody is looking for a peaceful transition here in the name of democracy and you’ve got the Senate minority leader acting like some garden variety political pundit”.

“I find Harry Reid’s public comments and insults about Donald Trump and other Republicans to be beyond the pale,” she said. “They’re incredibly disappointing. Talk about not wanting my children to listen to somebody.

“And he should be very careful about characterizing somebody in a legal sense,” she continued. “He thinks he’s just being some kind of political pundit there, but I would say be very careful about the way you characterize it.”

Conway denied that she was suggesting Trump might sue, but Reid’s deputy chief of staff, Adam Jentleson, issued a statement in response.

“It only took five days for President-elect Trump to try to silence his critics with the threat of legal action,” he said. “This should shock and concern all Americans.

“Trump has always used threats and intimidation,” Jentleson said. “Now he wants to silence a discussion of the acts of hate and threats of violence being committed in his name across the country. Silencing this discussion normalizes hate and intimidates the victims.”

In the days since Trump’s victory, reports of alleged hate crimes have been common across the country.

“Instead of rising to the responsibility of his office,” Jentleson said, “Trump is hiding behind his Twitter account and sending his staff on TV to threaten his critics.

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“If this is going to be a time of healing, Trump must take action immediately to stop the acts of hate and threats of violence that are being committed in his name across the country.”

Referring to continuing anti-Trump protests across the country and a march by 10,000 or more people in New York City on Saturday, which was halted near Trump Tower, Conway said Reid was “egging people on”.



“I walked right into the firestorm yesterday getting into Trump Tower,” she said. “A lot of these protesters are not there peacefully, are not there because they just want to express themselves and make a point or make the difference.

“They are there for nefarious conditions, they’re booing us, spitting on us. They’re causing all kinds of havoc.”