Democratic lawmakers and leaders rebuked President Biden for not calling the Venezuelan illegal immigrant who allegedly murdered Laken Riley in Georgia an “undocumented” immigrant.
When asked about Biden’s reference to Riley during his State of the Union speech, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi corrected Biden’s language choice.
“Now he should have said undocumented, but that’s not a big thing, ok? What’s the big thing?” she said during an interview on CNN Thursday night, immediately following the address.
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Democratic lawmakers and leaders rebuked President Biden for not calling the Venezuelan illegal immigrant who allegedly murdered Laken Riley in Georgia an “undocumented” immigrant. (Getty Images)
“I actually wasn’t even gonna ask about that,” CNN anchor Dana Bash told Pelosi. “I was just gonna ask more about the moment. But you do think that he should have said undocumented? That wasn’t going to be my question.”
“Well, we usually say ‘undocumented.’ He said ‘illegal.’ I don’t think it’s a big deal,” Pelosi continued. “I don’t think it’s a big deal because I think his focus was on the sympathy for the family. It’s a terrible tragedy.”
“It’s a terrible situation that anybody losing a child or a family member. It’s a terrible situation, but I think he handled it well,” Pelosi added in response to Biden’s performance Thursday night.
“As a proud immigrant,” Illinois Democratic Rep. Chuy García wrote Thursday, “I’m extremely disappointed to hear President Biden use the word ‘illegal.’”
“Let me be clear: No human being is illegal,” Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., wrote.
“Disappointed that [Biden] would use such dehumanizing right wing rhetoric to speak about immigrants tonight,” Rep. Delia Ramirez wrote Thursday. “No human being is illegal.”
Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, claimed that Biden’s rhetoric was “dangerously close to language from Donald Trump that puts a target on the backs of Latinos everywhere.”
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President Biden was also ridiculed Thursday following the State of the Union after he appeared to slip up while speaking the name of the slain Georgia student who was allegedly murdered by a Venezuelan illegal immigrant who had come across the Mexican border.
As Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. — wearing a red MAGA hat — shouted “say her name” toward the president, Biden responded by lamenting the young woman’s death but appeared to refer to her as “Lincoln Riley” — who is the coach of the University of Southern California Trojans football team.
“It’s not about him. It’s not about me. I’d be a winner… ” Biden said, referring to former President Trump’s alleged intervention in a failed bipartisan border bill before trailing off as Greene appeared to shout “say Laken Riley — say her name.”
President Joe Biden speaks during a State of the Union address at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, March 7, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
As boos were heard from the floor, Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, gestured to Greene as Biden reached below his dais and presented a button bearing Riley’s name:
“Lincoln — Lincoln Riley,” Biden appeared to say. “An innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal. That’s right, but how many of the thousands of people being killed by legals — to her parents?”
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Fox News’ Charles Creitz contributed to this report.
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