Andy Biggs

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs posted a video of herself eating a taco in response to a political opponent's comment.

The video sparked a conversation about politicians using Mexican food for political outreach.

Some local Mexican restaurateurs questioned whether the act was performative or genuine support.

The incident highlights a long history of politicians using food to appear relatable to voters.

On March 30, Gov. Katie Hobbs posted a video of herself eating a taco on social media. The meaning behind the move goes deeper than just showing the world what she ate for lunch.

The video was made in response to a comment that her political opponent Rep. Andy Biggs made on The Conservative Circus podcast on March 26, in which he said that tacos are "messy" so he would never eat one on camera.

When host James T. Harris asked Biggs if he would eat a taco from a food truck in Tucson, Biggs said, "I don't think so. I got a problem when I'm eating tacos, half of it ends up down my shirt."

Harris joked with Biggs and said he would lose out on constituents who "want to see the taco grease dripping down your chin, down your cheek and all that, because that means that you are for real." Biggs doubled down, "Well, I am for real, but I can't imagine it's good for anyone to see me doing that." The back-and-forth between the two men was lighthearted and interspersed with laughter.

In an apparent clapback at Biggs, Hobbs aimed to show that she was unafraid to eat a taco on camera. As she took a bite, she leaned over the taco and turned her head so that any dripping sauce fell onto the ground and not onto her skin or clothes.

Hobbs' video does not specify where the taco that she is eating came from. But in an interview with KTAR a few days later, Hobbs was asked about the thought process behind the social media stunt.

"The whole reason the taco situation started is, I went to visit some local taco trucks who are feeling the impact of Trump's tariffs, of higher gas prices … it's hurting their businesses, and small businesses are so important to our local economy," Hobbs told KTAR.

"I knew (Hobbs) was out there supporting the taco trucks, and that's great, we appreciate it. But is this performative? We're so injured that we question if it's performative or if it's true. In her case, I would like to believe that it's true," said Silvana Salcido Esparza, esteemed Valley chef and longtime owner of now closed Barrio Cafe in Phoenix.

Esparza said she felt Hobbs' video would have been more effective if she had directly called out Biggs for what she perceived as "racism in the laughter" at the prospect of publicly eating a taco.

Hobbs also claimed that Biggs "supports all of these policies that are raising costs for Arizonans and hurting our economy."

"We already know his (Biggs') policies are anti-immigrant," Esparza said. "It's something that hurts. And the wound we have as the Mexican community in the Unites States has never, ever been healed. Mexicans have been the scapegoat for everything."

Hobbs herself has a complicated history when it comes to Mexican food in politics. In 2023, she originally vetoed a bill that would allow for home-based vendors to legally sell food such as tamales in Arizona. A year later, she changed her mind and signed the bill into law in 2024.

Historic significance of Mexican food in political campaigns

Politicians have a long history of using proximity to Mexican food in campaign content, especially when campaigning in southwestern states like Arizona, from George H.W. Bush kneading tortillas at Estrella Tortilla Factory to Kamala Harris filming a video with Bacanora chef Rene Andrade.

"Aside from the actual physical eating of the taco, I think it represents a shift in the way that elected officials are using social media to push outreach and their work forward, by meeting people where they're at," said Dr. Edward Vargas, an associate professor at ASU's School of Transborder Studies whose research and teaching focuses on the health and well-being of Latino populations in the U.S.

"She (Hobbs) is not alone," Vargas said. "There have been other things that people have done to make candidates more relatable to individuals. But it's also part of this movement of the taco becoming a mainstream of the American diet."

Vargas pointed out that when national-level politicians visit Arizona, they tend to visit brick and mortar restaurants that already have established biases for either party based on the political views of the owners. But Hobbs' video was different: Rather than hosting a mini rally inside a physical restaurant, she went out on her own to have conversations with taco truck owners who do not own their own brick and mortar restaurants.

Vargas also said that Hobbs' knowledge to turn her head and take a bite out of a taco the "right way" was apparent in the video, and demonstrated her familiarity with Mexican culture. He compared it to an infamous incident in which President Gerald Ford tried to eat a tamale without removing the corn husk.

Mexican restaurateurs have thoughts on the use of tacos in campaign video

Some taco makers in Phoenix had thoughts about the back and forth between Biggs and Hobbs, and about the taco being used as a symbol or tool to represent Mexican culture in campaign content.

Esparza said she felt the issue was incredibly nuanced, but ultimately boiled down to what each candidate's deeper intentions were regarding their willingness (or lack thereof) to eat a taco.

Esparza herself was twice featured in campaign videos for former President Joe Biden in 2020. She said the experience was complicated for her — she proudly and publicly supported his campaign for president, but she couldn't shake the feeling that there were ulterior motives to including her in ads.

"I knew I was being used, but I also thought at the same time, that it was important to represent my culture and represent the other side of what people perceive Mexican food to be in the United States," Esparza said.

Phoenix taco makers want action, not social media stunts

"If someone walks into a Mexican restaurant and is against their race or ethnicity ... you're going to eat their food, you're going to have their company and then you're going to go in the back of the kitchen and say, 'Show me your papers'," said Jorge Picos, owner of Estero Beach Tacos. "No matter if you eat a taco, no matter if you break a piñata, no matter if you paint your face like 'Coco', it's not going to change that you don't understand us as people."

Picos recalled a 2016 tweet in which then-candidate for President Trump posted a photo of himself eating a taco bowl at his desk with the caption, "I love Hispanics!"

"I don't think they should use that as a tool to gather people of an ethnicity to show them they care. Because the words that have already come out and that are on record, that's enough for anybody to remember. Words and actions," Picos said.

Picos partially echoed Hobbs' sentiment that she shared with KTAR, which is that the laws that are currently being enacted and enforced in the U.S. are directly hurting small business owners such as himself, especially those who are Hispanic or Latino and are constantly afraid of ICE on top of worrying about rising costs for things like food ingredients and gas.

"There's a lot of small businesses going out of business because they don't have the moms and pops anymore. Tíos and tías in the back kitchen are leaving because they are scared of getting deported, detained and put in a camp," Picos said.

At the end of the day, Picos said, he will happily serve food to anyone who demonstrates basic respect for him and his staff at his food truck, regardless of political affiliation or ideology. But the hypocrisy isn't lost on him, either.

Luis Montes, owner of Tacos La Familia food truck in west Phoenix, said that he felt "indifferent" about the governor's video of herself eating a taco. He said it's more important to look at a politician's actual record rather than whatever videos they are posting on social media.

"For me, politics is about what they stand for and represent," Montes said. "During election season, there's a lot of promises that are made, but at the end of the day, what are they actually doing for whatever stance they're taking?"

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