First Lady Jill Biden’s attempt to describe the Latino population of San Antonio during a speech to the largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization on Monday garnered backlash, prompting her to issue an apology, per an Associated Press (AP) report that was ran by San Antonio ABC affiliate KSAT.
Biden was in Texas’ second-largest city to deliver remarks at the annual conference of UnidosUS, the AP reported.
She said that the community was “as unique as the breakfast tacos here in San Antonio” to which many responded negatively, according to the AP.
San Antonio AM radio station KTSA reported that the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) condemned the first lady’s comments.
“We are not tacos,” the organization said in a statement, according to KTSA. “Our heritage as Latinos is shaped by various diasporas, cultures and food traditions. Do not reduce us to stereotypes.”
KSAT reported that the NAHJ additionally suggested in a tweet the first lady and her speechwriters “take time to better understand the complexities of our people [and] communities.”
The station reported that longtime UnidosUS leader Raul Yzaguirre was among the 17 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House on Thursday.
Michael LaRosa, the first lady’s press secretary, tweeted in response, “The first lady apologizes that her words conveyed anything but pure admiration and love for the Latino community."
Houston ABC affiliate KTRK reported that President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador were slated to meet on Tuesday.
Obrador has openly criticized his U.S. counterpart on numerous issues, as well as declined to attend a summit in Los Angeles.
The White House is confident the relationship between the two presidents can be repaired, KTRK reported.