Barack Obama is mourning the loss of former Nevada senator Harry Reid, who died on Tuesday at the age of 82.
The former president, 60, tweeted a heartfelt tribute to his friend and political ally — who was instrumental in helping him pass various key pieces of legislation during his administration — and included an emotional letter he wrote Reid in his final days.
“When Harry Reid was nearing the end, his wife Landra asked some of us to share letters that she could read to him. In lieu of a statement, here’s what I wrote to my friend,” Obama said in the tweet that included a photo of the pair along with the letter.
“Here’s what I want you to know,” Obama wrote to Reid in the letter. “You were a great leader in the Senate, and early on you were more generous to me than I had any right to expect. I wouldn’t have been president had it not been for your encouragement and support, and I wouldn’t have gotten most of what I got done without your skill and determination.”
“Most of all, you’ve been a good friend,” he continued. “As different as we are, I think we both saw something of ourselves in each other – a couple of outsiders who had defied the odds and knew how to take a punch and cared about the little guy. And you know what, we made for a pretty good team.”
“Enjoy your family, and know that you are loved by a lot of people, including me,” he concluded. “The world is better cause of what you’ve done. Not bad for a skinny, poor kid from [Reid’s birthplace] Searchlight.”
