I never understood why New Wave and Punk were so closely linked? They couldn’t have been more different.
No doubt.
Stereotypes...the '80s, the predominant British influence, the fact that they were so unlike pop/rock of the '70s that they were lumped together by fans of the old school.
Middle America saw them as odd looking foreigners (or New Yorkers) who played a sound totally alien from their comfort zone of Skynyrd, Led Zep and Boston in some circles, Wings, Journey and Fleetwood Mac in others.