US first lady Jill Biden backtracks after comparing Hispanics to breakfast tacos

By Darren Lyn

HOUSTON, Texas (AA) - US first lady Jill Biden’s team is apologizing Tuesday for comments she made about Latinos.

Making a stop Monday in San Antonio, Texas, Biden compared America's Latino population to Hispanic food markets and tacos.

"As distinct as the bodegas (small grocery stores) of the Bronx, as beautiful as the blossoms of Miami and as unique as the breakfast tacos here in San Antonio," she said, referring to the Latino community in the US.

The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) responded late Monday, saying: "We are not tacos."

"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," it said.

"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 said in a statement. "Our heritage as Latinos is shaped by a variety of diasporas, cultures and food traditions, and should not be reduced to a stereotype."

Biden’s team apologized although it did not come directly from the first lady.

"The First Lady apologies that her words conveyed anything but pure admiration and love for the Latino community," her spokesman Michael LaRosa tweeted.

Biden's comments were made as Latino voters have expressed dissatisfaction with her husband's job performance.

A Quinnipiac University poll published in April showed only 26% of Hispanic voters approved of Joe Biden's performance as president, the lowest of any demographic group.