Republican Rep. Mayra Flores (TX), the first Mexican-born member of Congress, fired off a zinger at both CNN and first lady Jill Biden after the former published a piece calling her and other Republican Latina candidates “not the ‘real deal.'”
“As per CNN: I’m not the real deal,” she tweeted. “Maybe I’m not the right type of taco.”
Flores’ taco remark was in reference to Jill Biden’s comment comparing Latinos to “tacos” on Monday at an event that many Latinos on both the right and the left found tone-deaf and offensive.
Biden, whose remarks were captured on video and spread virally on social media, said, “Raul 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.”
The English professor also mispronounced “bodegas,” calling them “bogedas.”
Biden’s remarks earned her a rebuke from a Hispanic journalism association.
“NAHJ [The National Association of Hispanic Journalists] encourages @FLOTUS & her communications team to take time to better understand the complexities of our people & communities. We are not tacos. Our heritage as Latinos is shaped by various diasporas, cultures & food traditions,” the group said in a tweet.
A Biden spokesperson tweeted that she “apologizes that her words conveyed anything but pure admiration and love for the Latino community.”
Biden’s remarks did not help the perception that Democrats are losing touch with Latino voters, as evidenced by Flores’ win in a formerly blue district in Texas. Flores became the first Republican to win the district’s seat in decades.
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