Story highlights Trump mispronounced "Nevada"

He was attempting to show a crowd that he knew the right pronunciation

(CNN) Donald Trump's attempt to show Nevadans he knows the correct pronunciation of their state's name -- a touchy local issue -- backfired on Wednesday, prompting a sharp rebuke from Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada.

"Heroin overdoses are surging and meth overdoses in Nevada," the Republican presidential nominee told a Reno crowd. Trump repeated the word, pronouncing it "ne-VAH-da."

"Nevada. And you know what I said? I said, when I came out here, I said, nobody says it the other way. It has to be Nevada, right?" Trump said.

"And if you don't say it correctly -- and it didn't happen to me, happened to a friend of mine, he was killed," indicating he was aware the state's pronunciation is of particular interest to residents.

One problem: It did happen to Trump. Nevadans were quick to point out that Trump had it backwards -- and few did so more sharply than Reid.

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