Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Tuesday said he’d be able to get along with top Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill, saying he’s always had good relationships with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, and Sen. Charles E. Schumer, the chamber’s No. 3 Democrat.
“I’ve always had a good relationship with Nancy Pelosi. I’ve never had a problem,” Mr. Trump said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “[Harry] Reid’s going to be gone. I always had a decent relationship with Reid, although lately obviously I haven’t been dealing with him, so he’ll use my name as the ultimate … of the billionaires in terms of people you don’t want.”
“But I’ve always had a great relationship with Harry Reid,” Mr. Trump said. “Frankly, if I weren’t running for office, I’d be able to deal with [Pelosi], I’d be able to deal with Reid — I’d be able to deal with anybody.”
“But I think I’d be able to get along very well with Nancy Pelosi and just about everybody,” he said. “Hey look, I think I’ll be able to get along well with Schumer, Chuck Schumer. I was always very good with Schumer. I was close to Schumer in many ways.”
Mr. Trump had been asked who he would be able to deal with on the Democratic side to cut a deal. In recent days, Mr. Trump has stressed the need to be able to get along with people — which he says Sen. Ted Cruz has not done in the U.S. Senate.
“It’s wonderful to say you’re a maverick, and you’re going to stand up and you’re going to close up the country … but you got to get somebody to go along with you,” Mr. Trump said. “We have a system. The founders created a system that actually is a very good system. It does work.”
“But it can’t work if you can get nobody to go along with you, and that’s the problem that you have with Ted Cruz,” he said. “He’s a guy that nobody likes and nobody trusts, and he is a nasty guy. He says things that are very nasty. So I have to be nastier than him, and it’s just one of those things.”
Mr. Cruz said at a recent campaign stop in Iowa that while Mr. Trump has decided to toss some insults his way, he has no intention of responding in kind.
“I think the people of Iowa deserve better and are not interested in seeing politicians bicker and throw insults and go down in the mud,” Mr. Cruz said. “So I’m not going to do it.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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