Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid drew laughter from an Asian audience Thursday with a pair of Asian-themed jokes.
“I don’t think you’re smarter than anybody else, but you’ve convinced a lot of us you are,” Reid, a Nevada Democrat, told the guffawing crowd at the Las Vegas Asian Chamber of Commerce. Video of the remarks was recorded by the Republican opposition research group American Rising.
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Later, before walking off stage, Reid quipped: “One problem that I’ve had today is keeping my Wongs straight.”
The group decided against backing the Reid-endorsed Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor, Lucy Flores, supporting Republican Mark Hutchison instead, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.
“My comments were in extremely poor taste and I apologize,” Reid said in a statement to TIME after publication of this story. “Sometimes I say the wrong thing.”
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