Maybe Trump actually thinks Puerto Ricans are guilty not only of speaking
Last edited Sun Oct 1, 2017, 11:24 AM - Edit history (1)
Spanish but also of being mostly PoC, and certainly most people in the media are also incorrectly saying that Puerto Ricans are PoC--but in fact 76% of the PR population are of European descent (Spanish, mainly, of course).
IOW, PR is probably whiter than Florida and Texas.
I think Trump initially just assumed they were Spanish speaking foreigners, like Mexicans, and therefore not his problem. Once he found out they are US citizens, he still thought they were not worth bothering with because they speak Spanish and are mostly Democrats. Even those that register R voted for Rubio in the primary, not Trump.
Trump himself probably does think they are PoC, and since he is a racist, that probably does affect his responses. Therefore, calling his comments and behavior racist does make sense, but it is interesting that his racist response is based on a false assumption about the people of PR.
ON EDIT: Bigotry and racism overlap, but they are not the same thing.