First Lady Jill Biden was mocked and criticized on Wednesday afternoon after a botched attempt to speak Spanish. Video of her failed attempt to speak a foreign language then drew attention to a controversial-looking flag that was behind her.
Jill Biden made the remarks during an event speaking to farmworkers on the birthday of Cesar Chavez, a left-wing labor leader and activist who had a history of making bigoted remarks toward immigrants.
“It’s ‘Si se puede’ (Yes you/we can) not ‘Si se pwadueh,'” RGA Deputy Communications Director Joanna Rodriguez, who is fluent in Spanish, tweeted. “I can’t even imagine what word she was trying to say. Seriously why even try pandering if you’re going to butcher it and not practice before?!”
“Si se what???? I’m sure some one will surely tell Jill Biden ‘puadray’ is NOT a word in the Spanish dictionary,” Journalist Dania Alexandrino, who is a native Spanish speaker, tweeted. “For those who are celebrating her effort, yeah NO! Very far from ‘Si se Puede’ which means ‘Yes (we) can.’ We in parenthesis because it can also be yes you can!”
WATCH:
Almost! pic.twitter.com/ZW8PYVlqYn
— Alexei Koseff (@akoseff) March 31, 2021
“It’s wild that in the course of three months we went from a supermodel First Lady who spoke five languages, to fake Dr. Pwadway,” others mocked.
After the clip went viral, journalists and commentators called attention to the flag that was behind her, which appeared to resemble Nazi imagery. The flag was the official flag of the United Farm Workers of America. The organization claims that the eagle that is featured on the flag was designed by Cesar Chavez’s brother, Richard Chavez.
Smithsonian Magazine provided more context in a profile of Chavez [emphasis added]:
The story of the black eagle, the movement’s symbol, exemplifies [Cesar] Chavez’s skill as a tactician. He researched emblems, including cigarette boxes and Nazi flags, and concluded that the most potent color combination was red, black and white. He picked the eagle and directed his brother to draw the bird so simply that anyone could easily replicate the symbol.
Daily Caller White House correspondent Christian Datoc wrote: “Questioning the @FLOTUS staffers who thought it was a good idea to put their boss in front of what looks like a giant Nazi eagle.”
Questioning the @FLOTUS staffers who thought it was a good idea to put their boss in front of what looks like a giant Nazi eagle https://t.co/nj4qhm7VeH
— Christian Datoc (@TocRadio) April 1, 2021
Human Events Managing Editor Ian Miles Cheong wrote: “Is Jill Biden standing in front of a derivative of the Nazi flag? Let’s get some fact checkers on that.”
Is Jill Biden standing in front of a derivative of the Nazi flag? Let’s get some fact checkers on that. https://t.co/SK2Aoy1UMn pic.twitter.com/oudOwG4tDq
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) March 31, 2021
The flag, while it appears to resemble imagery from the Third Reich, does not appear to have been created with the same evil ideology in mind.
“A symbol is an important thing. That is why we chose an Aztec eagle,” Cesar Chavez said. “It gives pride…When people see it they know it means dignity.”
The organization says that Richard Chavez “squared off the wing edges so that the eagle would be easier for union members to draw on the handmade red flags that would give courage to the farm workers with their own powerful symbol.”