It’s never a good sign when liberals hold events to try to reach out to communities using terms that the target demographic itself does not like.
And so on Monday, when it was announced that First Lady Jill Biden would be speaking at the “Latinx IncluXion Luncheon” as part of the UnidosUS Annual Conference in San Antonio, Texas, it was met with a lot of mockery, and at least among conservatives, the expectations were not very high that anything productive would come out of it.
However, it was hard to predict exactly how cringe-worthy the event would be.
It turns out that it was pretty awful.
During the event, the first lady attempted to speak about the diversity of the Hispanic community, but she did so in the whitest way possible.
“[Raul Yzaguirre] helped build this organization with the understanding that the diversity of this community, as distinct as the bogedas [sic] of the Bronx, as beautiful as the blossoms of Miami, and as unique as the breakfast tacos here in San Antonio, is your strength,” Biden declared.
Once again, Dr. Jill Biden butchers the Spanish language in furtherance of pandering to a client constituency (the org FKA National Council of La Raza). I hereby bless your timelines with Dr. Jill's rendering of "bodega". pic.twitter.com/Z4FSXtlUMe
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) July 11, 2022
And the Democrats wonder why they have a problem with Hispanic voters fleeing their party.
Now, setting aside her butchering of the word bodega, she just compared a whole community to breakfast tacos.
Understandably, this did not sit well with a lot of observers including the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) which released a scathing statement blasting the first lady and her communications team for the comparison.
“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,” the statement read.
It continued, “NAHJ encourages Dr. Biden and her speech writing team to take the time in the future to better understand the complexities of our people and communities.”
It added, “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.”
Read the statement below:
NAHJ encourages @FLOTUS & her communications team to take time to better understand the complexities of our people & communities.
— NAHJ (@NAHJ) July 12, 2022
We are not tacos.
Our heritage as Latinos is shaped by various diasporas, cultures & food traditions.
Do not reduce us to stereotypes. pic.twitter.com/KQIq5gwsht
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) trolled Biden by changing his profile picture to a taco.
#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/QsYqCaNOoP
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) July 12, 2022
Meanwhile, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) tweeted, “Personally, I’m a chorizo, egg [and] cheese” with three taco emojis.
Personally, I’m a chorizo, egg & cheese. 🌮🌮🌮 https://t.co/cyrd0ITbN8
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 11, 2022
House Republican hopeful Cassy Garcia also tweeted, “Thank you Dr. Jill Biden, Ed.D. for clarifying that Democrats think Hispanics are ‘unique’ like tacos. However, I think you’re confused. We Texans love our bodegas. Bowguhdahs must be where Joe’s Latinx puppet Henry Cuellar shops.”
Thank you Dr. Jill Biden, Ed.D. for clarifying that Democrats think Hispanics are “unique” like tacos.
— Cassy Garcia (@CasandraLGarcia) July 11, 2022
However, I think you’re confused. We Texans love our bodegas.
Bowguhdahs must be where Joe’s Latinx puppet Henry Cuellar shops. https://t.co/VM68QqZTqq
Interestingly, as of Tuesday morning, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) had not commented on the taco comparison on Twitter.
On Tuesday, Michael LaRosa, the first lady’s spokesperson, tweeted, “The First Lady apologizes that her words conveyed anything but pure admiration and love for the Latino community.”
The First Lady apologizes that her words conveyed anything but pure admiration and love for the Latino community.
— Michael LaRosa (@MichaelLaRosa46) July 12, 2022
What this apology is missing is an admission that comparing people to tacos was a mistake that should never have been made. Instead, this reads more like, “We’re sorry if you were offended we compared you to food, but we thought you would have liked it.”
If this is Democrats’ idea of outreach, they might be better off with President Joe Biden playing “Despacito.”
FLASHBACK: Biden plays "Despacito" 😂 pic.twitter.com/n3z6Sr7AWt
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) May 5, 2022
Or they could just have him wear a sombrero and begin his remarks with, “Hola fellow Latinx!” Because those would both be about as effective as the first lady’s comparing the community to delicious food.