Those Are Americans in the Caribbean, Mr. President

The devastation in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Trump administration's slow response to it, and the president's outrageous and divisive attack on the mayor of San Juan, have highlighted two political obstacles facing the islanders: their lack of representation in Washington, and the lack of awareness that they are American citizens, too. The first problem can only be addressed through statehood, but the second is something Donald Trump can and should confront head-on.

Only about half of Americans know that Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens by birth, according to a recent poll. That matters not at all in terms of the assistance they need or the sympathy they deserve, but it affects public support for federal aid: 81 percent in the know support aid, compared to only 44 percent who see them as foreigners. And since island residents cannot vote in federal elections, for relief and aid in times of crisis they are dependent on the goodwill of their countrymen.