“Two days ago I came here and called upon our President-elect to rise to the dignity of his office. I called upon Donald Trump to take responsibility for his rhetoric and his actions, to work to heal the wounds that he created. Our President-elect has chosen to do none of those things.”

“On Tuesday, I said that the Southern Poverty Law Center had reported 315 hate crime since the election. As of yesterday – that was Wednesday – that number jumped to 437. That’s a 40% increase in only two days. That’s startling.”

“There’s only one person who can bring a stop to that quickly, and that’s the President-elect. Our nation is looking at Donald Trump to do something. For the sake of the American people, I hope he will.”

Washington, D.C. – Nevada Senator Harry Reid spoke on the Senate floor today calling on President-elect Donald Trump to do something to end to the vile acts of hate and intimidation happening across America:

Two days ago I came here and called upon our President-elect to rise to the dignity of his office. I called upon Donald Trump to take responsibility for his rhetoric and his actions, to work to heal the wounds that he created. Our President-elect has chosen to do none of those things.

Meanwhile, vile acts of hate and intimidation continue to occur all across America.

On Tuesday, I said that the Southern Poverty Law Center had reported 315 hate crime since the election. As of yesterday – that was Wednesday – that number jumped to 437. That’s a 40% increase in only two days. That’s startling.

Some of the instances, I will ask this be entered into the record that little bit, but I’m only going to pick a few of these.

For example, in Michigan, a Latino family awoke to find that someone has used boxes to form a wall blocking their driveway. The perpetrators left behind vulgar graffiti that denigrated Mexican Americans and praised Donald Trump for ‘taking back America.’

In Tennessee, two men returned home to find a threatening, homophobic note. Using gay slurs, the message told the men to go back where they came from.  A folding knife with a picture of Donald Trump on the handle was stabbed through the paper.

At a high school in Missouri, a 15-year old African American student was burned with a hot glue gun and told that he didn’t belong in America.  Another African American student at that same school was told by a white student – quote: “Are you ready to get back on the boat now that Trump is president?”

This morning the Washington Post Editorial Board related the story of a student at Baylor University. Listen to this:

“The morning after Donald Trump’s election as president, a student at Baylor University had a nasty, hate-filled encounter on her way to class. A native of Zambia, she was called the n-word by another student, who shoved her off the sidewalk and said he was ‘just trying to make America great again,’ the signature slogan of Mr. Trump’s campaign. What is perhaps most appalling about the incident is that it was not isolated.”

As I said, I picked just a few, a few simple examples. But in this 17-page document, I ask now it be made part of the record. There are hundreds of the same kinds of things happening, as we speak, around the country. These are sickening acts of hate, prejudice, and simple meanness. And they need to be stopped.

The Washington Post Editorial Board called on Donald Trump to do everything he can to bring these attacks to an end. This is what they said – and I quote:

“Mr. Trump should pay heed. These hateful acts are the work of a tiny minority of his supporters, but they have been emboldened by the ugly rhetoric of his presidential campaign. It is his responsibility — not, as his campaign manager has foolishly suggested, President Obama’s or Hillary Clinton’s — to do as much as he can to discourage such actions. Granted, his appointment of media mogul Stephen K. Bannon to a top White House job makes that all the more difficult. So does his mild response when asked about the threats and slurs in Sunday’s “60 Minutes” interview. Only when he was pressed could he muster an “I am so saddened to hear that. . . . Stop it.”

“Mr. Trump promised in his victory speech to be a president for all Americans. His wife has said she wants to make fighting hate and bullying her main priority as first lady. They need not wait until Inauguration Day to start living up to those promises.”

Seventeen pages of these hate-filled, awful things is too much. There’s only one person who can bring a stop to that quickly, and that’s the President-elect. Our nation is looking at Donald Trump to do something. For the sake of the American people, I hope he will.