Jill Biden Apologizes for Comparing Latinos to Bodegas and Breakfast Tacos

Tomás Mier
·2 min read
Second Shipment From "Operation Fly Formula" Arrives At Dulles Airport - Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Second Shipment From "Operation Fly Formula" Arrives At Dulles Airport - Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
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See, Jill Biden, sí se puede say sorry! The First Lady got dragged on social media after she compared the diversity of Latino people in the U.S. to breakfast tacos and bodegas. But now, she’s apologizing.

On Monday, Biden gave a speech at UnidosUS’ annual conference and attempted to highlight the diversity of the Latinx community by saying it is “as distinct as the bodegas of the Bronx, as beautiful as the blossoms of Miami, and as unique as the breakfast tacos here in San Antonio.” (She mispronounced the word bodegas, too.)

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She later added, “It’s when you speak with one voice—unidos—that you find your power.”

In a short tweet from her press secretary, FLOTUS apologized for her remarks on Tuesday. “The First Lady apologizes that her words conveyed anything but pure admiration and love for the Latino community,” wrote Michael LaRosa on Twitter.

Biden’s statement received condemnation from Latinx organizations, including the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, which wrote, “Using breakfast tacos to try to demonstrate the uniqueness of Latinos in San Antonio demonstrates a lack of cultural knowledge and sensitivity to the diversity of Latinos in the region. We are not tacos. Our heritage as Latinos is shaped by a variety of diasporas, cultures and food traditions, and should not be reduced to a stereotype.”

And, of course, Republicans had a field day coming for Biden, with Senator Rafael Edward Cruz, best known for his self-anglicized moniker “Ted,” writing, “Personally, I’m a chorizo, egg & cheese.”

Meanwhile, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has done little to nothing to protect Texans from mass shootings following the massacre of 21 people at a Uvalde school, wrote, “Breakfast tacos? This is why Texas Hispanics are turning away from the Democratic party.”

Some tweeters were drawn back to that one time Biden couldn’t say “Sí se puede” or “Yes we can” in Spanish, pronouncing it instead as, “Sí se pwodway!” Can someone add a Latino to her speechwriting team, please?

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