Watch CBS News

Harry Reid apologizes for cracking jokes about Asians

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., apologized Friday after cracking several jokes about Asian-Americans during a speech on Thursday before the Las Vegas Asian Chamber of Commerce.

"My comments were in extremely poor taste and I apologize," Reid said in a statement emailed to CBS News. "Sometimes I say the wrong thing."

In his speech on Thursday, Reid quipped, "The Asian population is so productive. I don't think you're smarter than anybody else, but you have convinced a lot of us you are."

He later added, "One problem I've had today is keeping my Wongs straight."

The remarks were captured on video and posted online by America Rising, a Republican opposition research group.

It wasn't the first time the 74-year-old Reid has been forced into damage control after some racially-tinged remarks sparked controversy. In the 2008 election chronicle "Game Change," Reid described then-Sen. Barack Obama as "light-skinned" and lacking a "negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one."

After the book was published and the remarks went public, Reid said he regretted his poor choice of words.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.