Days after breaking his silence on the slaying of Laken Riley at his State of the Union (SOTU) address, President Joe Biden said he shouldn't have referred to the suspect as an "illegal" immigrant.
The Context:
The death of Riley, who was found slain in a wooded area near the University of Georgia last month, has sparked mounting criticism about Biden's immigration policies as an influx of migrants cross into the country from the southern border. Police have charged Jose Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old migrant from Venezuela, in the 22-year-old nursing student's killing.
On Thursday while Biden was speaking about immigration issues during his SOTU address, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, demanded that the president say Riley's name during the speech.
In response to Greene's heckling, Biden said: "Laken Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal. That's right. But how many thousands of people being killed by legals? To her parents, I say, my heart goes out to you, having lost children myself. I understand."
Newsweek reached out via email on Saturday to Biden's representatives for comment.
What We Know:
During an interview with MSNBC host Jonathan Capehart, airing at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, Biden said he regrets using the term "illegal" when referring to Ibarra during his SOTU speech.
"I shouldn't have used 'illegal,'" the president said. "'It's undocumented."
In a clip of the interview shared by the network in advance, Biden also detailed what separates his border policies from his former President Donald Trump, his Republican rival in this year's election.
"When I spoke about the difference between Trump and me and one of the things I talked about in the border was the way he talks about vermin, the way he talks about these people polluting the blood," the president said. "I talked about what I'm not going to do, what I won't do. I'm not going to treat 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."
Views
While speaking at a rally in Rome, Georgia, Trump slammed Biden over his "illegal" immigrant remarks and demanded justice for Riley.
"He was an illegal migrant, and he shouldn't have been in our country and he never would have been under the Trump policy," Trump said. "Biden should be apologizing for apologizing to this killer."
Greene, an ally of Trump, slammed Biden over his MSNBC interview in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
"Today, President Trump honored Laken Riley, while Joe Biden apologized for calling the animal who murdered her an illegal," Greene posted on X. "It's despicable."
Sawyer Hackett, a Democratic strategist and consultant, praised Biden for admitting he regretted his comment.
"Great to see this from @JoeBiden," Hackett posted on X. "He tells @CapehartJ he regrets using 'illegals'—but also uses the mistake to remind people how much immigrants contribute and how dangerous Trump's fear-mongering is. Well done."
Update 3/9/24, 11:10 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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Maura Zurick is the Newsweek Weekend Night Editor based in Cleveland, Ohio. Her focus is reporting on U.S. national news ... Read more
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