President Joe Biden apologized for calling the alleged murderer of student Laken Riley an “illegal” during Thursday’s State of the Union address. The president received significant criticism from both sides of the aisle for his immigration comments last week, including from the slain student’s mother.
Biden referred to Jose Antonio Ibarra, the alleged murderer of Laken Riley as an “illegal” during the address.
On Friday, the president was asked about the use of the term “illegal,” to which he stated that the murder suspect should not have been in the country.
However, Biden apologized for using the term during an MSNBC interview on Saturday.
“I shouldn’t have used illegal, it’s undocumented,” said the president.
“And look, when I spoke about the difference between Trump and me, one of the things I talked about in the border was his, the way he talks about vermin, the way he talks about these people polluting the blood. I talked about what I’m not going to do. What I won’t do,” said the president.
“I’m not going to treat any, any, any of these people with disrespect. Look, they built the country. The reason our economy is growing. We have to control the border and more orderly flow, but I don’t share his view at all,” said Biden.
Biden apologizing to Laken Riley’s killer for calling the illegal alien an illegal rather than an “undocumented” murderer is a free Trump ad
Never stop playing it
— Ahmed Al Asliken 🕋☪️✈️ (@assliken) March 9, 2024
During the address, Biden also appeared to describe the murdered student’s first name as “Lincoln.” As he was speaking, congressional Republicans called on the president to say Riley’s name.
“I know how to say her name,” Biden said in response to a call to mention Riley’s name from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).
“Lincoln — Lincoln Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal,” he said. The president said that his “heart” went out to her parents following her death.
Biden does not even KNOW my child’s name – it [sic] pathetic!” said Riley’s mother Allyson Philips.
‘If you are going to say her name (even when forced to do so) at least say the right name!” wrote Philips, who also agreed with a post that called the president a “disgrace.”
