First Lady Jill Biden’s office APOLOGIZES after ‘breakfast tacos’ line at Latino advocates conference
- First Lady Jill Biden’s spokesman Michael LaRosa said she does not have ‘anything but pure admiration and love for the Latino community’
- Biden was giving a speech on Hispanic inclusivity in San Antonio on Monday when she compared the city’s Latino community to ‘breakfast tacos’
- Biden was honoring civil rights hero Raul Yzaguirre at the UnidosUS conference
- The First Lady also mispronounced ‘Bodegas,’ calling the New York City corner stores: ‘Bogedas’
- On the same day, her husband made another gaffe when he referred to the Parkland school massacre as having taken place in 1918 rather than 2018
- Jill Biden made reference to school shootings in her speech in San Antonio, discussing her recent visit to Uvalde
- ‘I stood in front of those 21 crosses and touched the pictures of the bright, beautiful faces that would never again laugh,’ the first lady said
First Lady Jill Biden’s office issued an apology on Tuesday morning for comparing the Hispanic community’s diversity to the breakfast tacos of San Antonio, Texas.
‘The First Lady apologizes that her words conveyed anything but pure admiration and love for the Latino community,’ her press secretary Michael LaRosa wrote on Twitter.
Biden was speaking at the annual conference of UnidosUS, formerly known as the National Council of La Raza, when she made the awkward comparison in an attempt to praise the community and the work of civil rights leader Raul Yzaguirre.
Yzaguirre was at the White House last week where he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists urged the first lady and her speech writers to ‘better understand the complexities of our people.’
Biden said on stage Monday, ‘Raul helped build this organization with the understanding that the diversity of this community.
The First Lady’s spokesman said the gaffe did not mean to convey ‘anything but pure admiration and love for the Latino community’ in a Tuesday morning statement
During the same speech, Biden made reference to a recent visit that she made to Uvalde in the wake of the May 2022 massacre at Robb Elementary School
‘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 – is your strength,’ she said, mispronouncing the word ‘bodega.’
‘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,’ the National Association of Hispanic Journalists said in response.
The gaffe came as President Biden’s popularity among Latino voters continues to plummet.
According to a recent Quinnipiac opinion poll found that Biden’s approval rating among young Hispanic voters is around 26%.
San Antonio is home to one of the largest Latino communities in the United States, with a population of nearly 1.5 million people that is 65 percent Hispanic or Latino, according to U.S. Census data.
President Joe Biden awards the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to civil rights advocate Raul Yzaguirre on July 7
In April 2021, Biden made a similar gaffe when she mispronounced the phrase: ‘Si se puede’ (Yes we can) to a group of farmworkers in Delano, California.
During the same speech on Monday, Biden also made reference to a recent visit that she made to Uvalde, Texas in the wake of the May 2022 massacre at Robb Elementary School.
She said: ‘I stood in front of those 21 crosses and touched the pictures of the bright, beautiful faces that would never again laugh, or open birthday presents, or tell their parents that they love them. And I knew that a piece of Uvalde would always be a part of me.’
The first lady also touted her husband’s modest gun reform law saying that the president ‘will do everything he can to call on Congress to act, including on measures to ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines.’
Biden added: ‘A ban on guns that only belong on the battlefield. The right to make our own decisions about our own bodies,’ to rapturous applause.
At the event announcing the law, President Biden mistakenly said that the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that killed 17 people occurred in 1918 during a speech advocating for red flag laws.
The 79-year-old president said: ‘Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, 1918, 17 dead, 17 injured.’
The shooting occurred on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2018.
It’s the latest in a series of gaffes that the president, who turns 80 in November, has made.
Despite his tanking numbers with Hispanic voters, Biden said the bloc was right to vote for the Democrat in 2020. With a view to the November 2022 midterm elections, he said: ‘We need to do much more [for the Latino community.]’
Biden won around six out of 10 Latino voters in the presidential election.
Jill Biden greets volunteers of the World Central Kitchen association, during a visit of a reception centre for Ukrainian refugees in Pozuelo de Alarcon, near Madrid in June 2022
In June 2022, Republican Mayra Flores won a special congressional election in a largely Hispanic community in Texas, a seat that Democrats have held for over 100 years. The district stretches from San Antonio to the Texas-Mexico border.
What is Latinx? A brief history of a controversial term
New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is among the most prominent users of the term Latinx
The term Latinx gained popularity in left-leaning academic circles to refer to Hispanics without using the gendered ‘Latino’ or ‘Latina’ terms.
Supporters say that the term promotes inclusivity while its critics say that it does not use traditional Spanish grammar and is disrespectful.
A recent Politico poll of Hispanic voters found that only 2 percent of those polled refer to themselves as ‘Latinx,’ 68 percent prefer ‘Hispanic,’ and 21 percent favored ‘Latino’ or ‘Latina.’
At the same time 40 percent said Latinx bothers or offends them while 30 percent said that use of the term would make them less likely to vote for a candidate.
The term has been in use since the early 21st century, first appearing on Google Trends in 2004. In 2016, the term was widely used in reference to the 2016 Orlando Pulse Nightclub shooting.
During the 2020 Democratic primary, Senator Elizabeth Warren used the term in a debate. USA Today called it at the time: ‘One of the highest profile uses of the term since its conception’
In June 2022, New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slammed fellow Democrats for being afraid to use the term. She said on Instagram: ‘It’s almost as though it has not struck some of these folks that another person’s identity is not about your re-election prospects.’
Fellow New York Rep. Ritchie Torres attacked the New York Yankees on Twitter for using the term saying: ‘I represent the South Bronx, home to the Yankees. Never heard anyone locally use the term ‘Latinx.’ Does a majority of Hispanics actually use the term ‘Latinx’? Torres asked in a tweet on Friday in response to the Yankees.’
He continued: ‘If the answer is ‘no’, how did ‘Latinx’ come to be the term to use in government and Corporate America?’
The event the first lady spoke at was held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on the San Antonio River Walk. The conference features speakers who discuss issues such as equality, inclusion and diversity.
The 2022 edition of the conference is the first time that it has been held in person since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Conservatives on social media jumped on the gaffe, wondering what the liberal outrage would sound like if a prominent Republican had said it.
‘No wonder Hispanics are fleeing the Democratic Party!’ U.S. Representative Andy Biggs, a Republican from Arizona, wrote on Twitter.
Jill Biden has come in for a barrage of criticism from all corners of the conservative political world
The press secretary to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Christina Pushaw tweeted: ‘Imagine the regime media meltdown if a conservative called Hispanics ‘breakfast tacos’ like Dr. Jill Biden did at the Latinx Luncheon today. Democringe.’
Texas Republican congressional candidate Irene Armendariz-Jackson tweeted: ‘Jill Biden came to Texas to tell the Hispanic community that we’re as ‘unique as breakfast tacos’. The fact that someone actually approved her to say that line in her speech and that NO ONE saw an issue with it is wild. They’re going to be at a 5% Hispanic approval rating soon.’
Armendariz-Jackson is running for the seat formerly held by prominent Democrat Beto O’Rourke.
During his run for president in 2016, ex-President Donald Trump posted a photo showing him a taco bowl with the caption: ‘I love Hispanics!’
FORGETTING NUMBERS, CONFUSING LIBYA AND SYRIA, CALLING KAMALA ‘PRESIDENT’ AND HOT MIC BLUNDERS: BIDEN’S GAFFES THAT HAVE RAISED HEALTH CONCERNS
As the oldest person ever sworn in to the White House, President Joe Biden has faced questions and concerns over his mental as well as physical acuity since taking one one of the most stressful jobs in the world.
But aside from his advanced age, Biden, 79, has worried even supporters with numerous gaffes over the year he’s been in office.
JANUARY 24, 2022 – BIDEN CALLS PETER DOOCY A ‘STUPID SON OF A B*****’
‘You displayed this type of mood change during a cabinet meeting on when you apparently did not know your microphone was on after finishing your opening remarks, and you called a White House reporter a “stupid son of a b****”in response to a question asked on inflation,’ Jackson claimed.
He was referring to a hot mic moment in late January during which Biden criticized Fox News reporter Peter Doocy, after which the president personally apologized to the journalist.
Biden has also been known to have trouble with the names of his most senior officials, foreign leaders and even countries.
MARCH 8, 2022 – SLIPPING AND FORGETTING LLOYD AUSTIN’S NAME
https://youtube.com/watch?v=GdNm-rvodZU%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26hl%3Den-US
The president slipped up during the March 8 speech while trying to remember Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s name.
‘I want to thank Sec-, the former general, I keep calling him “General.” My – the guy who runs that outfit over there,’ Biden said, before quickly adding, ‘I want to make sure we thank the secretary for all he’s done.’
A trip to Texas that same month to visit a Houston-area vaccination center saw Biden apparently lose his train of thought and become confused. He even asked, ‘What am I doing here?’ while trying to get himself back on track.
On multiple occasions Biden has also appeared to refer to Vice President Kamala Harris as the ‘president.’ During a commencement speech at South Carolina State University in late December, Biden remarked: ‘Of course, President Harris is a proud Howard alum.’
He made the mistake again more recently, declaring during a voting rights speech in Georgia on January 11 that ‘President Harris and I stood on the United States Capitol.’
Biden has been known to get dates confused as well — in May 2021 he recalled traveling via Amtrak to see his mother while he was vice president in 2013. But his mother had died in 2010.
The apparent issues began long before Biden took the White House. When he was on the campaign trail in September 2020, then-candidate Biden was widely mocked for saying ‘200 million people have died’ from COVID-19 under Donald Trump’s watch. The number was around 200,000 at the time.
And while president, Biden had to be corrected on a statistic regarding COVID-19 vaccinations. During a COVID-19 White House press conference, Biden attempted to say, ’57… excuse me… 570… I don’t want to read it, I’m not sure I got the right number…’ Chief Medical Adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci aided him to say the figure was ’57 million.’
JUNE 18, 2022 – BIDEN FALLS DURING BIKE RIDE
Joe Biden fell off his bike during ride near his Rehoboth Beach home in Delaware on June 18, as he and his wife celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary
Gasps rang out after the president unexpectedly fell on June 18 as he was trying to dismount his bike to chat with a crowd who had gathered along a Rehoboth Beach bike path
Biden took the solo bike ride, surrounded by agents, on June 18 near his Rehoboth Beach home
President Joe Biden hopped out of church later on June 18 to prove he wasn’t injured after falling over on his bike during a ride near his Rehoboth Beach home earlier in the morning
Biden fell off his bike during a ride near his Rehoboth Beach home on June 18.
He had come over to say hello to a crowd that had gathered near the Gordon’s Pond State Park bike trail, with people yelling ‘Happy Father’s Day’ to the president.
Upon trying to dismount the bike, his shoes caught and he fell over sideways, causing a mad scramble of Secret Service and press trying to help him up.
Gasps rang out after the fall, which saw Biden stay on the ground for roughly 10 seconds, before being helped up by several Secret Service Agents, who immediately swarmed the downed Democrat.
Moments later, Biden was glad-handing the crowd – even bringing one woman out to meet first dog Commander, who was being walked nearby.
Despite the tumble, the president did not appear to suffer any abrasions or cuts from the spill and the White House said he didn’t need to see a doctor after the incident.
Biden himself told reporters: ‘I’m good’ after the tumble.
JULY 8, 2022 – BIDEN HAS ANOTHER RON BURGUNDY MOMENT
President Joe Biden was reading a quote off of his teleprompter during a Friday White House speech when the apparent gaffe occurred
Multiple people compared Biden to Will Farrell’s iconic journalist character Ron Burgundy of the film ‘Anchorman’
Republican strategist Greg Price mocked Biden on Twitter after yet another gaffe in which the president appeared to read speaking directions off of his teleprompter.
‘It is noteworthy that the percentage of women who register to vote and cast a ballot is consistently higher than the percentage of the men who do so. End of quote. Repeat the line,’ the president said during a White House speech Friday.
‘Women are not without electoral…or political power.’
Posting the clip on social media, Price compared it to Will Farrell’s Ron Burgundy being unable to deviate from the script on his teleprompter despite grammatical mistakes and obvious errors.
Burgundy’s embarrassing on-air verbal incidents are a recurring gag throughout the movie.
Price posted a clip of Burgundy’s frustrated news crew and suggested the White House staffers behind-the-scenes were feeling similarly.
But White House Assistant Press Secretary Emilie Simons challenged Price’s claim that Biden made a mistake.
‘No,’ Simons wrote, adding that Biden said ‘Let me repeat that line.’
CONFUSING LIBYA AND SYRIA
Biden repeatedly confused Syria with Libya while discussing ways of working with Russia during a press conference at the G7 on June 13, 2021
The White House later brushed the confusion off, confirming that it was indeed, Syria, the country where Russia and the US have been involved in a decade-long civil war, which the president was referring to
Biden repeatedly confused Syria with Libya while discussing ways of working with Russia during a press conference at the G7 on June 13, 2021.
The 78-year-old gaffe machine spoke of working with Russian President Vladimir Putin to provide economic assistance to the people of Libya, prompting some confused glances from the press pack at the G7 summit in Cornwall, England.
‘I’m hopeful that we can find an accommodation where we can save the lives of people in — for example, in — in Libya,’ the president said, mentioning the north African country for the third time instead of Syria, which is in the Middle East. The White House later brushed the confusion off, confirming that the president was indeed referring to Syria, the country where Russia and the US have been involved in a decade-long civil war.
TRIPPING WHILE CLIMBING THE AIR FORCE ONE STAIRS
On March 19, video captured Biden tripping up the stairs as he boarded Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews.
In the clip, Biden stumbles as he walks up the airstairs. He grabs the hand railing to catch his balance, but then loses his footing two additional times.
During the third stumble, he falls to his knees. However, after brushing off his leg, he reaches the top of the plane and gives a salute before disappearing inside.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre later told reporters that Biden was ‘100 percent fine’ and preparing for his trip in Atlanta.
‘It’s pretty windy outside. It’s very windy. I almost fell coming up the steps myself,’ she said.
On March 19, he was caught tripping up the stairs as he boarded Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews
Just one day earlier, during a press conference on March 18 (pictured), he referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as ‘President Harris’
Just one day earlier, Biden accidentally referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as ‘President Harris.’
The gaffe occurred during a press conference on March 18, during which he lauded his administration for being close to meeting their goal of 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in his first 100 days in office.
‘Now when President Harris and I took a virtual tour of a vaccination center in Arizona not long ago, one of the nurses on that, on that tour injecting people, giving vaccinations, said that each shot was like administering a dose of hope,’ Biden said.
Harris was standing behind Biden as the president carried on with his speech, but did not correct himself.
Later that day, when the White House released the transcript of his speech, Harris’s proper title was inserted with brackets.
In a speech on March 9 (pictured), Biden seemed to fumble with his words and forget the name of his Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin
In a speech on March 9, Biden seemed to fumble with his words and forget the name of his Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
‘I want to thank Sec – the former general – I keep calling him “General,”‘ Biden said.
‘My – the guy who runs that outfit over there. I want to make sure we thank the Secretary for all he’s done to try to implement what we’ve just talked about, and for recommending these two women for promotion.’ The slip-occurred despite the fact that just a few minutes earlier, he had mentioned Austin’s name in the speech without an issue.
During an Election Day speech in Philadelphia, Biden stumbled over his words and confused his granddaughter with his late son, Beau Biden.
Biden told the crowd: ‘I want to introduce you to two of my granddaughters…this is my son, Beau Biden who a lot of you helped elect to the Senate in Delaware.’
The commander-in-chief had meant to introduce the crowed to Natalie, Beau’s daughter, but hadn’t just mixed up the name but the person – he also put his arm around Finnegan Biden, Hunter’s daughter.
He finally corrected himself as he draped his arm around Natalie’s shoulder and said: ‘This is Natalie, this is Beau’s daughter.’
Beau Biden passed away in 2015 after a months-long battle with glioblastoma, one of the deadliest types of brain cancer.
TOLD STATE SENATOR IN WHEELCHAIR TO STAND UP
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Rkr-lePr7jA%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26hl%3Den-US
In 2008, Biden told then-Missouri state senator Chuck Graham to stand up for the crowd at a rally, before realizing he was in a wheelchair
Not all of Biden’s gaffes occurred in the 2020s or even the 2010s. In fact, some happened in the early aughts.
In September 2008, after Biden had been named former President Barack Obama’s running mate, he attended a campaign rally in Missouri.
It was there that he called on then-Missouri state senator Chuck Graham, who passed away last year. to stand up for the crowd.
‘I’m told Chuck Graham, state senator, is here. Stand up Chuck, let ’em see you,’ Biden said.
It was at that moment he realized Graham was in a wheelchair due to muscular dystrophy.
‘Oh, God love you. What am I talking about. I’ll tell you what, you’re making everybody else stand up, though, pal.’
According to the Columbia Tribune, Graham said he was never offended by the mistake.
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