President Joe Biden made the odd claim that he “was kind of raised in the Puerto Rican neighborhood, at home, politically” during his clumsy attempt to engage his audience during his tour to storm-devastated Puerto Rico. This claim had some connection to Delaware’s purportedly “quite substantial” Puerto Rican population back during the 1950s and ’60s.
“First off, let me say that Jill and I are excited to be here. You may be aware that I’m from a tiny state called Delaware. It’s not like the New York congresswoman, for example. She hails from a sizable state,” Biden informed the riveted crowd.
“But compared to our overall population, Delaware has a relatively sizable Puerto Rican population. The eighth-largest black population in the nation resides here. Additionally, 20% of our state is made up of minorities overall. Therefore, I was politically raised in the Puerto Rican community at home,” he asserted.
When our now 79-year-old commander in chief was being “raised,” the Puerto Rican community in Delaware made up less than .4% of the state’s overall population, according to the 1970 U.S. Census.
