Following his "can we get some mexican music to go along with that" Ted Cruz comments, the always "apolitical" Steve Liesman - who honed his 'economic' teeth while on a mission to communist Russia - has issued an apology. Explaining his remarks were not meant to be "offensive in any way," Liesman suggested perhaps country-western would be a better choice next time...
The "oops" moment...
On Tuesday morning’s CNBC Squawk Box, senior economics reporter Steve Liesman blamed the weak jobs report on Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX). He said, “We’re going to call this the Senator Ted Cruz jobs report. These are the jobless claims of Senator Ted Cruz.” As CNBC showed a picture of Cruz, Liesman added, “There he is! There he is! Can we get some music to go along with that, some Mexican music maybe?”
and the apology [3]...
Regarding my recent remark on Squawk Box regarding Senator Ted Cruz, I first want to deeply and sincerely apologize if my remarks were insensitive.
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.
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.