(IntegrityTimes.com) – Biden’s March 7 State of the Union (SOTU) address was praised by his allies in the media, but some Democrats were enraged over how he defined a murderer who unlawfully came into the United States.
Biden was responding to Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene’s demand that he acknowledge the death of Laken Riley, who was murdered by an illegal migrant named José Antonio Ibarra. In that brief moment, Biden slipped from the Democratic Party rhetoric, stating that Riley “was killed, by an illegal. That’s right.” The 26-year-old Venezuelan illegal migrant was paroled into the United States in 2022. He was released from jail after two separate arrests in 2023 before Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could issue a detainer.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who was sitting directly behind Biden, went from smiling about him calling Greene’s bluff to a frozen expressionless face. Members of the Democratic Party posted their disappointment that Biden used the word “illegal” to describe Ibarra. Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi told CNN that Biden should have said “undocumented” instead of “illegal.” The following afternoon, Biden was asked if he regretted what he said. He denied having regrets and insinuated that Ibarra was not legally allowed in the country.
In an attempt to save face, Biden sat for an interview with MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart on March 9. He apologized, telling Capehart, “I shouldn’t have used illegal, it’s undocumented.” He went on to contrast how he and former President Trump talk about illegal migration. He said that he would not be disrespectful to anyone coming into the country illegally, claiming that illegal migrants built the United States and that they were the reason for the economy’s current growth.
Trump and Biden both held rallies in Georgia that day, which is where Riley lived and attended nursing school. Her family attended Trump’s rally and met with him before he spoke. During his speech, Trump spent several minutes honoring her life and blasting Biden for his SOTU comments and his apology on MSNBC.
Copyright 2024, IntegrityTimes.com
