Los Angeles mayoral candidate Rick Caruso declares he's not white because he's Italian - NBC News

Los Angeles mayoral campaigner Rick Caruso insisted he's not white, but truly Italian — and frankincense "Latin" — during an awkward statement infinitesimal Tuesday successful the nation's second-largest city.

The billionaire existent property developer Caruso is facing disconnected against U.S. Rep. Karen Bass, a Democrat seeking to go the city's archetypal Black pistillate mayor.

Next month's predetermination comes successful the aftermath of the L.A. City Council President Nury Martinez resigned from her presumption Wednesday aft an audio signaling of her making racist remarks surfaced.

Los Angeles mayoral campaigner Rick Caruso speaks astatine Emerson College Los Angeles connected Oct. 7, 2022.Amy Sussman / Getty Images

In bringing up the ongoing scandal, Telemundo anchor Dunia Elvir stated: “The adjacent politician of Los Angeles volition beryllium either an African-American pistillate oregon a achromatic man."

“I’m Italian,” Caruso interjected.

Elvir responded, “Italian American," as Caruso insisted that his radical recognition beryllium stated connected his terms.

“That’s Latin, convey you,” Caruso said.

The mayoral hopeful said he's, for decades, led efforts to bring much acquisition opportunities and healthcare to Black and Latino communities successful Los Angeles.

"I link with the Latino assemblage but rather frankly my occupation arsenic politician is to link with each assemblage — the Latino community, the Black community, the Asian community, right? The Jewish community," said Caruso, who is moving arsenic a Democrat.

"If 1 one radical rises, we each rise. We bash this unneurotic successful unison and we don't separate, we don't divide. But we each accidental to ourselves we tin bash this and we tin person a amended city."

Caruso's "Latin" individuality remark drew a harsh reaction, ranging from scorn to mockery.

"Wow, did Caruso conscionable accidental helium is Latin? That helium is not a achromatic man?" community activist Alberto Retana tweeted connected Tuesday night. "I americium floored. We cannot fto him bash this. Terrible."

Comedy writer Nick Jack Pappas cracked that Caruso has arsenic overmuch transportation to Latin Americans arsenic Christopher Columbus.

"Can’t hold for Rick Caruso to assertion Columbus was a Latino immigrant," the writer tweeted.

The Los Angeles Times connected Sunday reported that it had obtained 2021 audio from a governmental strategy gathering successful which Martinez and Councilman Kevin De León utilized racist slurs successful notation to Councilman Mike Bonin’s young son, who is Black. Bonin is white.

Martinez stepped down from her enactment post Monday and took a permission of lack from the council earlier announcing her resignation Wednesday.

The metropolis of Los Angeles is location to nearly 3.9 cardinal residents, with 48.1% percent of them identifying arsenic Hispanic oregon Latino; 28.5% arsenic non-Hispanic oregon Latino white; 11.8% Asian and 8.8% Black.

Caruso appeared to beryllium hanging his "Latin" chapeau connected taste presumption utilized extracurricular of the United States, according to Mark Hugo Lopez, manager of contention and ethnicity probe astatine the Pew Research Center.

"'Latin' is thing successful confederate Europe. You'll perceive radical notation to themselves arsenic 'Latins' and that includes radical who are Spanish, Portuguese, French and Italians," Lopez told NBC News connected Wednesday.

But successful communal American parlance, "Latin" mostly refers to radical who tin hint their lineage to Latin American nations.

"'Latino' and 'Latin American,' those truly U.S.-based presumption that person circumstantial meanings and it refers to radical from Latin America," said Lopez.