You have autonomous states, [edited out: A mild oath of exasperation, annoyance, frustration, anger, or surprise]. And Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands.
FWIW, I'm the parent he was replying to and I was fine with and appreciative of his correction. It seemed the appropriate amount of antagonism, given my error.
I was not even trying to be a little antagonistic, really. It was mostly (a too colloquial display of) surprise given the huge amount of autonomy of every “region” in the country.
