First Lady Jill Biden tried to speak Spanish on Wednesday at an event honoring César Chávez but seemed to have trouble with pronunciation.
Biden tried to pronounce “Sí Se Puede!” which means “Yes we can!” in Spanish — tried, and didn’t quite succeed.
Almost! pic.twitter.com/ZW8PYVlqYn
— Alexei Koseff (@akoseff) March 31, 2021
Biden’s pronunciation was quickly mocked on Twitter, with some trying to phonetically spell out her pronunciation of “puede.”
— GIF Caucus (@GIFcaucus) March 31, 2021
And the sister show with Jill Biden: “how not to speak Spanish.” https://t.co/b5Sg0uc4At
— Buzz Patterson (@BuzzPatterson) April 1, 2021
Journalist Dania Alexandrino said in a tweet that Biden’s efforts shouldn’t be celebrated. (RELATED: First Lady Jill Biden Is Getting Her Own Comic Book)
Si se what???? I’m sure some one will surely tell Jill Biden “puadray” is NOT a word in the Spanish dictionary. 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! https://t.co/sWVfzhwgG9
— ????????????????Dania Alexandrino???????????????? (@DaniaPeriodista) April 1, 2021
Biden spoke alongside Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom in Delano to farm workers while commemorating the birthday of Chávez, who is branded a Latin American civil rights activist, according to KGET. Chávez helped get farmworkers clean water and toilets in the fields, collective bargaining and other legal rights, according to CNN.
Chávez frequently used the phrase “Sí Se Puede!” and his United Farm Workers (UFW) group used the phrase as their motto, according to UFW.
President Joe Biden is publicly sympathetic to Chávez, with a bust of the leader seen in the Oval Office as the president signed immigration laws upon taking office, according to The Washington Examiner.
Chávez, however, was critical of undocumented workers and fought against illegal immigration, accusing undocumented workers of driving down wages.