LA Mayor Candidate Rick Caruso Says He's 'Italian' When Called White Man In Debate
Los Angeles mayoral candidate Rick Caruso raised eyebrows Tuesday when he corrected a debate moderator who called him a “white man.” (Watch the video below.)
“I’m Italian,” the billionaire developer retorted to chuckles. “That’s Latin, thank you.”
“The next mayor of Los Angeles will be either an African-American woman or a white man.”
Rick Caruso: “…I’m Italian. That’s Latin, thank you.” pic.twitter.com/PMSImugONP— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) October 12, 2022
Caruso added that he felt “connected” to the Latino community, but “quite frankly, my job is to connect with every community,” The Daily Beast reported.
Caruso, a Democrat, was “seeming to suggest a link between his heritage and much of the city’s population,” the Los Angeles Times wrote. (Italy has a Latin language heritage, but the term Latino generally refers to Americans with Latin American roots — not European.)
Some observers on Twitter weren’t buying it.
“Can’t wait for Rick Caruso to claim Columbus was a Latino immigrant,” writer Nick Jack Pappas commented.
Caruso’s office did not immediately reply to a HuffPost request for comment.
Caruso trails U.S. Rep. Karen Bass (D) by a narrowing gap, according to a recent poll. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have endorsed Bass.
Here are some other reactions to Caruso’s comments:
As an Italian, I understand why he said it and I also disagree with it
— Hyza (@Hyza87) October 12, 2022
He’s a rich white male trying to buy the position of Los Angeles Mayor.
— Joe (@JoePDR) October 12, 2022
Imagine tony soprano identifying as latin American
— Who’s Eli!? (@TheEzRydr) October 12, 2022
Big boy is still as white as toilet paper.
— Shhhh (@Jxxxxx024) October 12, 2022
— NUTELLA MAI (@empresskaiia) October 12, 2022
He could have left in at Italian. The moment he said Latin, whether correct or not, he’s trying to connect it to the Latin community in LA, specifically Latin American and not Latin European. He does this because of his opponent.
— It's Sergio (@SergioB_) October 12, 2022
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.