“[Jill Biden] He apologizes for his words expressing anything but pure admiration and love for the Latino community.
The first lady traveled to San Antonio on Monday to address the annual convention of UnidosUS, a Latino civil rights and defense group known as Conselho Nacional de la Raza.
Before returning to Washington, Jill Biden spoke at a Democratic fundraiser.
The attempt at praise failed when the first lady said that Latino diversity is “as unique as the bodegas in the Bronx, the flowers in Miami, and the breakfast tacos in San Antonio.”
Jill Biden misspells “bodegas,” small shops in urban areas that typically specialize in Hispanic food.
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists and other organizations responded via social media against the “crime.”
“Using breakfast tacos 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 journalists’ organization pointed out.
The association also said the first lady and speechwriters should “dedicate more time in the future to better understand the issues of people and society.” [latina]”.
Hispanic voters generally support Democrats, although patterns of support for the group vary widely across the United States.
According to Pew Research Center data, Latino support for the Democratic presidential candidate declined in 2020 (Joe Biden) compared to 2016 (Hillary Clinton).
Some Democrats have suggested the party is not working hard enough to retain Hispanic support.
During her speech, Jill Biden spoke about how President Joe Biden has responded to the community, including appointing Latinos to Cabinet and other top government positions and helping to push for a vaccine against Covid-19.
In June, Republican Mera Flores won a special election for Congress in the typically Democratic region of South Texas.
Flores is a staunch Trump supporter and the first Mexican-born woman elected to the US Congress.
This Tuesday, Jill Biden spent part of the day with Mexico’s First Lady Beatriz Gutierrez Mueller, while Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador was at the White House with his US counterpart.
