Wrath rained down upon President Joe Biden after he apologized for calling a murder suspect who entered the country illegally an “illegal.”
Biden had veered out of the lane of political correctness in his State of the Union message when he referred to the murder of Laken Riley.
Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student at Georgia’s Augusta University, was killed last month on the Athens, Georgia, campus of the University of Georgia. Jose Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela who had a child endangerment charge against him in New York state and a shoplifting charge against him in Georgia prior to Laken’s death, has been charged with her death.
During the speech, Biden got Riley’s first name wrong twice, calling her, “Lincoln — Lincoln Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed.”
After Republican Rep, Marjorie Taylor Greene called out “by an illegal,” Biden added, according to the White House transcript: “By an illegal. That’s right. But how many of thousands of people are being killed by legals?”
In an MSNBC interview on Saturday, Biden was asked about using a term that led to criticism from Democratic Rep. Delia Remirez of Illinois that Biden used “dehumanizing right-wing rhetoric to speak about immigrants tonight. No human being is illegal.”
Biden was quick to backpedal, indicating he meant to say “an undocumented person.”
“And I shouldn’t have used ‘illegal.’ It’s ‘undocumented,’” Biden said according to a clip of the interview posted on X.
Moments later, claiming a rhetorical superiority to former President Donald Trump, Biden said that when speaking of illegal immigrants, ”I’m not going to treat any of these people with disrespect.”
NEW: President Biden tells @CapehartJ that he regrets using the word “illegal” during his State of the Union speech to refer to the alleged killer of Laken Riley.
“I shouldn’t have used ‘illegal.’ It’s undocumented.”
Tune in at 6pm ET on MSNBC for the full interview. pic.twitter.com/EX7XuyhF1N
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) March 9, 2024
“Look, they built the country,” Biden added.
During a campaign stop in Georgia, Trump breathed fire about the comments, according to ABC.
“Joe Biden went on television and apologized for calling Laken’s murderer an illegal. Biden should be apologizing for apologizing to this killer,” he said.
No apology from Joe Biden to the family of Laken Riley, but he does want America to know how sorry he is that he called her murderer an illegal.
This tells you all you need to know about who Democrats care about and want to protect. #gapol #gagop pic.twitter.com/Yj45HrWEze
— GAGOP (@GaRepublicans) March 10, 2024
Riley’s parents, her sister and friends joined Trump on stage and received an ovation from the crowd at the rally.
“We share your grief,” Trump told them.
No apology to Laken Riley or her parents.
An apology to the illegal alien savage who killed her.
I know this is saying A LOT but this is a new low for Joe Biden. This is most despicable thing he has done as president. This is rock bottom. https://t.co/bkkwfIGxzu
— Gerry Callahan (@GerryCallahan) March 10, 2024
But for Biden, Trump had only disdain for botching Riley’s name and then backing away from calling the man suspected of killing her “an illegal.”
“What Joe Biden has done on our border is a crime against humanity and the people of this nation for which he will never be forgiven,” Trump said.
Should Biden have apologized?
Riley “would be alive today if Joe Biden had not willfully and maliciously eviscerated the borders of the United States and set loose thousands and thousands of dangerous criminals into our country,” he said.
Biden’s morally obscene apology to Laken Riley’s killer makes the Democrats’ position clear, and official:
The Democratic Party really does care more about criminals than victims.
Vote these people out at every opportunity.
— steve hilton (@SteveHiltonx) March 10, 2024
Trump said his words are more accurate than what Biden now says he meant to say.
“I say he was an illegal alien. He was an illegal immigrant. He was an illegal migrant,” Trump said.
In speaking of Riley’s death, Trump said Biden has “no remorse. He’s got no regret, he’s got no empathy, no compassion, and worst of all, he has no intention of stopping the deadly invasion that stole precious Laken’s beautiful American life,” Trump said.
