Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Santorum Says: Puerto Rico Must Speak English To Be A State
By
Garth Johnston
Published Mar 15, 2012
Modified Mar 15, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Garth Johnston
Published Mar 15, 2012
Modified Mar 15, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Rick Santorum has gone and whipped up another frothy controversy. While campaigning in Puerto Rico ahead of the territory's Sunday primary, the Presidential hopeful showed willful misunderstanding of how this country works when he told a local paper that if Puerto Rico wants to be a U.S. state it is going to have to make English its official language first.
"If you are going to participate as a state in the United States then you need to participate in the language that people speak in the, uh, States," he said, as you can see in the above video. Is it just us or does it sometimes seem like Santorum wants to make Onion headlines come to life? "We need to work together and determine what type of relationship we want to develop," he went on to tell El Vocero. But we can only determine that if PR made English its primary language, obviously. "The motto on the, the saying on the seal, says 'E Plurbus Unum,' which is 'out of many, one' and we can't be one if we can't communicate on a daily basis." (Psst—somebody tell Santorum that's Latin!)
"Like any other state, there has to be compliance with this and any other federal law," Santorum continues. "And that is that English has to be the principal language. There are other states with more than one language such as Hawaii but to be a state of the United States, English has to be the principal language."
Uhm, no! Not at all. So we are all very clear there is no official language in the United States of America (though a few states in the union do have one) and there is no requirement that a territory adopt a language to become a state. A territory just needs approval from Congress. A territory *bangs head on table*.
Sadly this latest example of Santorum saying stupid shit probably won't hurt the candidate. It isn't like his other comments have.
Tagged
el vocero
Election 2013
primary
puerto rico
rick santorum
Garth Johnston
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Man shot by ICE in NYC's Marble Hill said federal officers never identified themselves
The wounded man said he didn't learn ICE agents were involved until he woke up in the hospital.
By
Arya Sundaram
and
Samantha Max
Published Oct 14, 2026 at 5:26 p.m. ET
Modified Oct 14, 2026 at 6:55 p.m. ET
Brooklyn school dean says MTA officers assaulted him over a $3 bus fare he says he paid
Kyle Taylor, a dean at Mott Bridges Academy, says he made a legal bus transfer.
By
Carol Chen
News
Brooklyn school dean says MTA officers assaulted him over a $3 bus fare he says he paid
Kyle Taylor, a dean at Mott Bridges Academy, says he made a legal bus transfer.
By
Carol Chen
National Grid customers in NYC will see higher gas bills this winter
By
Rosemary Misdary
Bruce Blakeman joins Gov. Hochul in support for expanding NY rape law
By
Jon Campbell
2 men accused of stabbing off-duty NYPD detective in the Bronx plead not guilty
By
Charles Lane
and
Brittany Kriegstein
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .