The Associated Press has faced some mocking on social media after a report over the weekend originally said that former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) spoke “in his native Spanish” during a rally.
“O’Rourke also spoke at length in his native Spanish, eliciting loud and sustained cheers,” the original AP report from Saturday read.
{mosads}The 2020 presidential hopeful, whose full name is Robert Francis O’Rourke, is fourth-generation Irish-American.
The report comes after O’Rourke officially launched his campaign in the border town of El Paso in a speech that focused heavily on immigration.
The AP coverage solicited a number of responses across social media mocking it for calling Spanish O’Rourke’s native language.
The AP has since removed the word “native” in its online report to read, “O’Rourke also spoke at length in Spanish, eliciting loud and sustained cheers.”
O’Rourke, 46, ran a strong campaign to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) last fall, but ultimately lost in the deep-red state by 2.6 points. The race launched O’Rourke into the national conversation, however, with speculation of a presidential run beginning immediately after his loss.
He has joined a Democratic field full of political heavyweights, including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).