First of all, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden is a well-regarded educator and a very respected and well-liked individual in Washington D.C. political circles. She is not, however, particularly well versed in Spanish, at least evidenced by her unintentionally comedic and complete mangling of “Si, se puede” during a recent address to farmworkers on the birthday of César Chávez.
Dr. Biden was in Delano, California to commemorate the life of the transformational labor leader and Latin American civil rights and activist on Cesar Chavez Day, a U.S. federal commemorative holiday, proclaimed by President Barack Obama in 2014. “Si, se puede,” is a phrase popularized by Chávez and his United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta, and was used as a motto by the group in the 1970s. It was also a current refrain during the Obama campaign of 2008.
Dr. Biden’s message was in support of migrant farmworkers, particularly those seeking vaccines amid the Covid-19 vaccination. Alas, that message was lost by her mispronunciation of the phrase. You can watch the short clip below, shared by Alexei Koseff on Twitter:
Almost! pic.twitter.com/ZW8PYVlqYn
— Alexei Koseff (@akoseff) March 31, 2021
As one can imagine, jokes ensued, particularly from the conservative side of the social media platform who delighted in making comparisons to the former First Lady, Melania Trump. To wit:
Watching Jill Biden botch basic Spanish makes me miss Melania Trump, an extraordinary First Lady who is fluent in five languages.
— Nick Adams (@NickAdamsinUSA) April 1, 2021
Watching Jill Biden botch basic Spanish makes me miss Melania Trump, an extraordinary First Lady who is fluent in five languages.
— Nick Adams (@NickAdamsinUSA) April 1, 2021
Remember when FLOTUS Melania Trump was mocked by celebrities and the media because she spoke five languages and had an accent?!?!
Presenting dOcToR of Pandering, Jill Biden… pic.twitter.com/4Xfo4bSfMe
— ForAmerica (@ForAmerica) April 1, 2021
Apparently I don’t speak Jill Biden either… https://t.co/5V7HNLZJpC
— Jenny Garcia Sharon (@jenny4congress) April 1, 2021
But not all of the reactions mocked Dr. Biden. Some mocked the mockery because … that’s the way we live now:
That’s it. I’ve seen enough! I’m never voting for Jill Biden.
— Ray Suarez (@RaySuarezNews) April 1, 2021
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