CNBC’s senior economics reporter Steve Liesman apologized Wednesday for calling on producers during a live airing of “Squawk Box” to play “Mexican music” for Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.
On Tuesday’s show, Mr. Liesman blamed the weak jobs report on Mr. Cruz, saying “We’re going to call this the Senator Ted Cruz jobs report. These are the jobless claims of Senator Ted Cruz.”
CNBC then showed a picture of the Republican, whose father is Cuban.
“There he is! There he is!” Mr. Liesman shouted. “Can we get some music to go along with that, some Mexican music maybe?”
“Regarding my recent remark on Squawk Box regarding Senator Ted Cruz, I first want to deeply and sincerely apologize if my remarks were insensitive,” the reporter wrote online Wednesday.
“Second, I want to explain that it was not intended to be offensive in any way. I thought of him only as an American senator from Texas, and in an attempt, on the fly, to choose music representing that state, I chose Mexican music,” he said.
“As a musician for many decades, I’ve played and listened to tons of Texas songs infused with Mexican themes. A better choice would have been Country/Western or Texas Roadhouse Blues — it was a bad reach all the way around,” he concluded.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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