Joe Kennedy III spoke Spanish during his State of the Union response. Democratic National Convention

The internet is undecided as to whether Joe Kennedy’s Spanish hat-tip was insulting to Dreamers or whether it was a strong stand of solidarity.

In his State of the Union response on behalf of the Democrats, Massachusetts Congressman Joe Kennedy III, the grandson of US Senator Bobby Kennedy, spoke a line in Spanish as he told Dreamers that the Democrats would fight for them and that they are “part of our story.”  

“And to all the Dreamers watching tonight, let me be clear: Ustedes son parte de nuestra historia. Vamos a luchar por ustedes y no nos vamos alejar,” Kennedy said.

“You are a part of our story. We will fight for you. We will not walk away. America, we carry that story on our shoulders.”

A fluent Spanish speaker who spent some time working in the Dominican Republic with the Peace Corps, 37-year-old Kennedy used the language to stand in opposition to President Trump’s earlier claims in his State of the Union address that "Americans are dreamers, too." Yet people are undecided as to whether Kennedy's use of his second language was a smart move or just an empty gesture to threatened immigrants who don’t all speak Spanish.

Read  more: What you should know about Joe Kennedy and his State of the Union address

Some heralded Kennedy's Spanish as a sign that he stood with them and that his use of Spanish, in particular, was because that is the language that is readily available to him, representing immigrants of all nations:

Others raised the point that while it’s nice that Kennedy can speak Spanish, he is a still a white male from a privileged family. While he may be standing in solidarity, yes, with Hispanics and Latinos, it’s problematic that a person from those communities is not in the same position to use their voice:

Read more: Joe Kennedy brands Trump a bully in State of the Union response

Others also pointed out that it is wrong to suggest that all Dreamers speak Spanish, as many have spent the vast majority of their lives in America or are not from a Spanish-speaking nation:

And of course, there were some who had to take a hit at Trump:

What do you think of Kennedy's Spanish turn? Let us know in the comments section, below.