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'Bow-get-taas' and 'breakfast tacos': Jill Biden apologizes for stereotyping Hispanics

Jill Biden mispronounced 'bodega' during a speech to a Hispanic advocacy group in San Antonio on Monday, July 11

Update: Jill Biden apologized for saying Texas Latinos are as "unique" as "breakfast tacos" while speaking at the 2022 UnidosUS Annual Conference titled “Siempre Adelante: Our Quest for Equity” in San Antonio on Monday, July 11. “The first lady apologizes that her words conveyed anything but pure admiration and love for the Latino community,” Jill's spokesperson Michael LaRosa tweeted.

Jill Biden is being trolled for mispronouncing “bodega” during a speech to a Hispanic advocacy group. During a speech in San Antonio, Texas, Jill pronounced "bodega" as “bow-get-taas”, a pronunciation that was closer to that of Colombian capital “Bogotá” than the standard pronunciation “bow-day-guh". In the speech, Jill praised the “bow-get-taas” of The Bronx. She was speaking at the 2022 UnidosUS Annual Conference titled “Siempre Adelante: Our Quest for Equity” in San Antonio on Monday, July 11.

In the US, a bodega refers to a small neighborhood grocery. Now used by residents of all ethnicities, it originated with New York City’s Puerto Rican residents. “Raul [Yzaguirre] helped build this organization with the understanding that the diversity of this community — 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,” Jill said in a speech to the group UnidosUS.

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Her comments have been blasted by Republicans who argued that they show why Democrats are going to lose Hispanic voters. Arizona Rep Andy Biggs wrote on Twitter, "Jill Biden says Hispanics are as “unique” as tacos and calls bodegas “bogidas.” No wonder Hispanics are fleeing the Democratic Party!" Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) press secretary Christina Pushaw also commented on the statement. "Imagine the regime media meltdown if a conservative called Hispanics "breakfast tacos" like Dr. Jill Biden did at the Latinx Luncheon today. Democringe," she wrote. Steve Guest, special adviser for communications for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), shared the clip and said "Jill Biden just said Hispanics are as “unique” as tacos. This isn’t Veep. Which White House speechwriter just won a bet for getting the First Lady to say something like this?"

The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) responded to Jill's comments. "NAHJ encourages @FLOTUS & her communications team to take time to better understand the complexities of our people & communities," the association wrote. "We are not tacos. Our heritage as Latinos is shaped by various diasporas, cultures & food traditions. Do not reduce us to stereotypes."

Jill has been roasted by the Internet for her comments. "According to Jill Biden I'm a damn breakfast taco," one user wrote. Another user said, "Liberal privilege is Jill Biden telling a group of hispanic people that they're "as diverse as breakfast tacos" and not being canceled for it." "Sorry Jill Biden but like most LATINOS, I don’t identify as a “breakfast taco"," one user wrote. "If you are comparing diversity of people to breakfast tacos you should be fired," said one user. 

"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"," one user wrote, while another said, "Professor Jill Biden used the word "bogadah" in a speech today when she meant Bodega. Was that on her teleprompter? I'm sure the White House will say everyone else's hearing is wrong." One user said, "Jill Biden called NYC bodega’s “Bo-ga-daws”. I see she continues expressing with the same accuracy and finesse used in her Doctoral dissertation." "Hey @FLOTUS what’s a Bogeda? Don’t you have a BA in education?" commented one user.

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Jill Biden was roasted for another incident earlier in June, when she opened up about her 45-year marriage to Joe Biden in an interview, using the word "fexting", possibly not knowing what it actually means. Jill told Harper's Bazaar that she and the President hash out their “occasional” fights via text messages, and described the act as “fexting". Jill may have assumed that the term is an amalgamation of the words 'fighting' and 'texting', but in reality it has an obscene meaning. According to Urban Dictionary, the word refers to "f**king while texting". The word can be used in various other contexts but it is never a slang for fighting via texting.