The White House said Monday that President Biden “absolutely did not apologize” for referring to the suspected murderer of Georgia student Laken Riley as an “illegal alien.” It was the latest development in a swirling controversy over unscripted remarks made in the State of the Union speech. .
Asked why Biden was “apologizing,” White House press secretary Olivia Dalton told reporters: “First of all, let me be clear: the president has never apologized.” Ta. “There was no apology anywhere in that conversation. He didn’t apologize. He used different words.”
Biden had been urged by Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to mention the name of Riley, who was allegedly killed last month by a Venezuelan national who entered the country illegally but was paroled inland.
Biden says he regrets using ‘illegal’ to describe Laken Riley murder suspect during State of the Union address
President Biden holds up the Laken Riley button during his State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, March 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
“Lincoln Riley” [sic]”An innocent young woman killed by an illegal alien, that’s right,” she said, holding up a badge with her name on it.
The use of the word “illegal,” even in reference to the alleged killer of illegal immigrants, worried some Democrats and immigration activists who found the word offensive.
“Let me be clear: Humans are not illegal,” Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota, said on X (formerly Twitter).
Biden uses terminology for illegal immigration that the Department of Homeland Security warned about in 2021 in State of the Union address
“As a proud immigrant, I am deeply disappointed to hear President Biden use the word ‘illegal,'” said Rep. Chuy Garcia, D-Ill., in a statement.
Jose Ibarra lived within a five-minute walk of the approximate scene where he allegedly killed 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley on February 22nd. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital/Laken Riley/Jose Ibarra)
Biden was later asked about his use of the term in an interview on MSNBC, and expressed regret that he had misunderstood the term, claiming that illegal immigrants “built our country.”
“And I shouldn’t have used illegal language, I should have… It’s undocumented. And look, when I talked about my differences with Trump, one of the things I talked about at the border One was about him, the way he talked. “The way he talked about pests, people contaminating blood. I talked about what I’m not going to do, what I won’t do. I don’t mean to be disrespectful to any of you.”
Asked if he regretted his choice of words, Biden said, “Yes.”
Biden’s response was roundly criticized by many on the right, who interpreted his remarks as an apology.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican: “The president is cowering in his camp and showing respect to a man of no value. This man is an illegal immigrant who brutally murdered Laken Riley. President Biden apologizes to Laken’s family.” You should. What a shame.” -LA, wrote X on Sunday.
The White House said on Monday that Biden has not apologized for his comments, but accused his critics of “politicking” and restricted some inland releases. He renewed his call for Congress to pass a bipartisan border agreement that increases funding and staffing. . The proposal faces opposition from conservatives who say it would perpetuate high levels of illegal immigration.
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“I think it’s unconscionable that there are people who are taking political advantage of the tragic murder of this young woman, especially considering that House Republicans are standing in the way of a bipartisan border security agreement. At an unprecedented time,” Dalton said. This was announced by the White House press secretary.
“This is the toughest bill we’ve ever seen, and Donald Trump is doing it because he feels the safety of the American people is more important than his personal politics. Yes,” she said.
Fox News’ Joseph Wulfsohn, Joshua Comins and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
