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Did Jill Biden speak in front of Nazi flag? 'Imagine if Melania Trump stood' by eagle flag, conservatives ask

While the flag itself has nothing to do with Nazism — as per the Smithsonian Magazine — Chavez researched emblems, including cigarette boxes and Nazi flags, and concluded that 'the most potent color combination was red, black and white'

First lady Dr Jill Biden has been accused of giving a speech with a "Nazi symbol" in the backdrop. The accusation came from far-right supporters of former President Donald Trump. 

Dr Biden visited Forty Acres in Delano, California, the historic birthplace of the United Farm Workers, a labor union for farmworkers in the United States, on Wednesday, March 31. There, on César Chávez Day -- a U.S. federal commemorative holiday that celebrates the birth and legacy of the civil rights and labor movement activist -- she said, “César Chávez understood that no matter the obstacles, when people come together, united in cause, anything is possible.” As per the LA Times, she said in Spanish strongly laced with a Delaware accent, “Yes, we can -- sí, se puede!”

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But while this was a day of celebration, on social media, many insinuated that her speech was made in front of Nazi symbology - they were talking about a flag with an eagle on it. “Hey libs, was Jill Biden blowing a Nazi dogwhistle?” wrote a Twitter account, sharing a photo of the first lady with the flag with an eagle insignia in the background, along with a photo of the Reichsadler -- there’s another variant called the Parteiadler -- also commonly known as the Nazi War Eagle. 

“Is that a Nazi flag behind Jill Biden?!” asked another Twitter account, sharing the photo. “@FLOTUS is a Nazi,” said a Twitter user. “OMGOSH is Jill Biden a nazi? They are putting people in cages. Americans want to know,” said another. 

The claims, however, were entirely false. The black eagle in the flag is as far removed from Nazism as possible. It was conceived in 1962 when Chávez and Dolores Huerta founded the National Farmworkers Union, the predecessor of the United Farm Workers. 

Art and culture journalist Ed Fuentes noted in a column, “A symbol was needed for the marches being planned, so César’s brother, Richard, and his cousin, Manuel, begin working on flag designs, borrowing the symbol of the eagle from the Aztecs, the indigenous people so many Mexican Americans identify with. On a brown paper wrapper, as the legend goes, the first initial designs of an eagle with squared-off wings were created, and chosen, as has been recounted into UFW labor lore. Andrew Zermeño, a graphic-artist friend of the family, interpreted the wings as an inverted pyramid.”

Nonetheless, misinformation was spread when The Daily Caller’s editor-in-chief Geoffrey Ingersoll wrote, “I’m owed a three-day cycle over the eagle on this flag,” Ryan Saavedra, a reporter for the right-wing news platform The Daily Wire, responded with, “Imagine if Melania Trump stood in front of that flag.” Gregory Price, another journalist at the Daily Caller said, “For all intents and purposes, the flag behind Jill Biden is a UFW flag and has nothing to do with Nazism, but I'm sure somebody in the media would have made it a story if it were Melania!”