Hispanic Lawmakers Respond to Jill Biden’s Taco Comments
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Republican Hispanic lawmakers criticized first lady Jill Biden’s comments comparing the “diversity” of the Hispanic community to “breakfast tacos” Wednesday in several statements made exclusively to National Review.
Biden made the remarks Monday, saying the diversity of the Hispanic community is 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.” Her office issued an apology Tuesday, claiming Biden’s words meant “pure admiration” and “love.”
National Review reached out to all sitting Hispanic members of Congress, asking if they had a response to Biden’s comments. A host of Republicans responded, calling the comments “disgraceful.”
Cuban-born Republican Florida Representative Carlos Gimenez said, “At the very least, she could have compared us to croquetas! But in reality, it’s truly a disgraceful comment.”
“For far too long, Democrats have treated us as an interest group, just another voting bloc for them to use to win elections. To them, Hispanics are nothing but a Hispanic Heritage Month prop and a hashtag social media campaign. When the First Lady compares us to tacos, it really shows their true colors and how they see us,” Gimenez added in a statement to National Review.
Republican Texas Representative Tony Gonzales responded, saying Hispanics “are not tacos” and that Democrats just want them to “shut up.”
“Turns out the Democrats are even worse at playing identity politics than they are at stopping inflation and solving the border crisis. Hispanics aren’t Latinx and we aren’t tacos. But do the Democrats really care? Not really. They just want us to shut up,” Gonzales told National Review.
“The Bidens should focus more time on providing opportunity and hope to all Americans and less on thinking about how different groups of Americans remind them of snacks,” Republican Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington said to the outlet.
Republican Representative Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida also said Hispanic Americans are much more than just their food.
“Hispanic Americans stand for patriotism, family values, hard work, and entrepreneurship. I think the First Lady should recognize those rather than just our culinary contributions,” she told National Review.
Republican Florida Senator Marco Rubio’s office directed National Review to his Twitter page, where he had changed his profile picture to a taco.
#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/QsYqCaNOoP
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) July 12, 2022
Republican Florida Representative Mayra Flores also responded via a reference to her Twitter page, where she called out Biden’s remarks repeatedly.
“Maybe I’m not the right type of taco,” Flores said in response to a CNN opinion article calling GOP Latina candidates, including her, not the “real deal.”
None of the Democratic Hispanic members of Congress responded to multiple inquiries from National Review.
