Bloomberg’s Mark Halperin Apologizes For Asking Sen. Cruz To Speak Spanish

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Mark Halperin, the managing editor of Bloomberg Politics, apologized on Monday for ethnically driven questions he’d asked Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) during an interview last month.

Halperin linked to his apology, which was posted to Scribd, in a tweet that referenced his interview with the 2016 Republican presidential candidate.

Halperin’s tweet is below:

The statement mentioned certain questions before apologizing to Cruz and “to those that were offended.”

Here’s the full apology:

We wanted to talk with Senator Cruz about his outreach to Latino voters the day after he spoke at the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. My intent was to give the Senator a chance to speak further about his heritage and personal connections to the community through some casual questions. I rushed through the questions, and that was a mistake — it led to poor tone and timing. I also understand why some felt the questions were inappropriate. As for asking Senator Cruz to welcome Senator Sanders to the race in Spanish, that was meant to be the type of light-hearted banter that he’s done with us before on the show. In no way was I asking Senator Cruz to “prove” he was an “authentic” Latino. I apologize to those that were offended, and to Senator Cruz. I promise that I will work to make the tone and questions better next time.

During the interview, which aired on April 30, Halperin asked Cruz whether he’d listed himself as Hispanic when he applied to Princeton and Harvard Law, what his favorite Cuban dish was, and who his favorite Cuban singer was. Halperin then asked him to speak Spanish.

“Finally, I wanted to give you the opportunity to directly welcome your colleague Senator Sanders to the race and I’d like you to do it, if you would, en Español,” Halperin said.

“I’m gonna stick to English but I appreciate the invitation, señor,” Cruz responded.

On Monday, Cruz posted a response to Halperin’s apology on Facebook:

Mark Halperin is a serious and fair-minded journalist. Today he kindly issued an apology for some silly questions he asked me in an interview. The apology was unnecessary — no offense was taken, nor, I believe, intended — but is certainly appreciated.

I’m proud of my Cuban heritage, my father’s journey from oppression and prison in Cuba to freedom in America, and also my Irish-Italian heritage on my mother’s side. Both are integral parts of who I am today.

The 2016 Republican field is shaping up to be the most diverse in history, and I look forward to a robust and substantive conversation about how we work together to turn around our current stagnation and expand opportunity for everyone to achieve the American Dream.

Watch the video below, courtesy of Bloomberg Politics. Halperin asks Cruz to speak Spanish at about 07:13.

h/t ThinkProgress

This post has been updated.

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