Kimberly Guilfoyle’s speech at the Republican National Convention was mostly ridiculed Monday because she screamed her way through it. But through all the noise she also made a big error that has left many in the Latino community offended. She said she was a first-generation American. She seemed to be referring to the fact that her mother was born in Puerto Rico and she somehow tried to make this a talking point against Democrats:
“As a first-generation American, I know how dangerous their socialist agenda is. My mother, Mercedes, was a special education teacher from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. My father, also an immigrant, came to this nation in pursuit of the American Dream.”
Of course, Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, so therefore anyone born there is a U.S. citizen.
Kimberly Guilfoyle says she's a first-generation American.
Her mom is from Puerto Rico.
PR is a commonwealth of the United States.
Irony: if she descends from the Taíno, her ancestors have been here longer than most Americans.
— Holly Figueroa O'Reilly (@AynRandPaulRyan) August 25, 2020
The woman the GOP picked as their “proud” Latina to tout “immigrant experience” didn’t seem to know that Puerto Rico is already part of the United States.
It’s quite on message, bc it reflects their belief that Latinos aren’t real citizens, even when we are Native descendants. https://t.co/I7iU3yEGT0
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 25, 2020
Kimberly Guilfoyle is a first generation American??? Her people are from Aguadilla, PR. So is my grandfather. Puerto Ricans are American – last I checked. I’m horrified. And embarrassed as a fellow Latina. Shameful. #GOPConvention2020
— Sunny Hostin (@sunny) August 25, 2020
Something else from this same portion of Guifoyle’s speech also raised some eyebrows. Guilfoyle said because of where her parents come from she knows how dangerous a socialist agenda is, but neither of her parent’s birthplaces is known as “socialist” territory so that connection is unclear as well. Her father hails from Ireland.
https://twitter.com/AndrewPaulJoyce/status/1298235888414195713
This line of thinking isn’t uncommon from those tied to the current White House. Donald Trump has also suggested Puerto Rico isn’t part of America and Hogan Gidley, former Deputy Chief of State and current press secretary of the Trump presidential re-election campaign twice referred to Puerto Rico as its own country. Just last week, former Department of Homeland Security chief of staff, Miles Taylor said he also once heard Trump ask whether the U.S. could swap Greenland for Puerto Rico because “Puerto Rico was dirty and the people were poor.”
