--- title: Mark Kirk Apologizes for Insulting Tammy Duckworth description: Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk has apologized for mocking his rival Rep. Tammy Duckworth's Asian heritage during a debate. canonical: https://time.com/4549439/illinois-mark-kirk-tammy-duckworth-apology/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-28T16:48:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-06-24T06:57:03.169Z article:section: Politics og:title: Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk Apologizes for Insulting Rival's Asian Heritage og:description: "Sincere apologies to an American hero" og:url: https://time.com/4549439/illinois-mark-kirk-tammy-duckworth-apology/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3549fb3cf98a8216/6988abeb656a3fe83bbcda19/sen-mark-kirk.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Senate 2016 Illinois Debate og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk Apologizes for Insulting Rival's Asian Heritage twitter:description: "Sincere apologies to an American hero" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3549fb3cf98a8216/6988abeb656a3fe83bbcda19/sen-mark-kirk.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk Apologizes for Insulting Rival Rep. Tammy Duckworth's Asian Heritage ## Video: This Video Is No Longer Available [Watch (HLS stream): This Video Is No Longer Available](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fKodeUO6.m3u8) (0:10)  _Published 2026-06-23. "Sincere apologies to an American hero"_  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Oct 28, 2016 4:48 PM UTC  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Oct 28, 2016 4:48 PM UTC Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk has apologized for mocking his rival Rep. Tammy Duckworth’s Asian heritage [during a debate](http://time.com/4548902/illinois-mark-kirk-tammy-duckworth-racial/). “Sincere apologies to an American hero, Tammy Duckworth, and gratitude for her family’s service,” GOP Sen. Kirk tweeted Friday. > [](https://twitter.com/MarkKirk/status/792038214877839364) During Thursday night’s debate, Duckworth, who was born in Thailand and is a veteran who [lost both of her legs in the Iraq War](http://time.com/4549113/tammy-duckworth-mark-kirk-military-war/?xid=tcoshare), touted her family’s long history of U.S. military service. “I had forgotten that your parents came all the way from Thailand to serve George Washington,” Kirk replied. His comment sparked immediate backlash, including from Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, who [tweeted](https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/791990628263624704) at him, “It’s really not that hard to grasp.” Watch Duckworth tell TIME about her history of military service [here](http://time.com/4549113/tammy-duckworth-mark-kirk-military-war/?xid=tcoshare). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4549439/illinois-mark-kirk-tammy-duckworth-apology/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4549439/illinois-mark-kirk-tammy-duckworth-apology/"},"headline":"Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk Apologizes for Insulting Rival Rep. 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