White House spokeswoman Olivia Dalton clarified that President Biden did not apologize for referring to Laken Riley’s accused killer Jose Antonio Ibarra as “an illegal” during his State of the Union address.
Biden had suggested to MSNBC he “shouldn’t have” used that term, but Dalton stated he “used a different word” and “did not apologize.”
“Lincoln, Lincoln Riley,” Biden said. “An innocent young woman who was killed … by an illegal. That’s right. But how many of thousands of people are being killed by legals?”
I shouldn’t have used ‘illegal,’ I should have — it’s undocumented,” Biden said.
Dalton criticized those “playing politics” with Riley’s murder, including Donald Trump who visited her family to blame Biden’s border policies.
When asked if Biden should apologize for calling immigrants “illegal,” Dalton said he “absolutely did not apologize” and condemned Republicans blocking bipartisan border bills while claiming public safety is less important than Trump’s “personal politics.”
“In his interview with Jonathan Capehart, President Biden apologized for calling Laken Riley’s killer an ‘illegal.’ Does — does he feel like he needs to apologize to illegal immigrants for calling them what they are — or using the term ‘illegal?'” a reporter asked.
“Well, first of all, I want to be really clear about something. The President absolutely did not apologize. There was no apology anywhere in that conversation. He did not apologize. He used a different word,” Dalton said.
“I think, what’s — what’s — what we should be really clear about is the facts. So, in addition to the fact that, you know, the President did not apologize, I want to make another thing clear. The President spoke directly to this in the State of the Union Address not four nights ago, when he spoke passionately about knowing what it means to lose a child and extended his deep grief and condolences to Laken Riley’s family in — in front of the entire country in the — in the House Chamber.”
“And beyond that, I think it’s unconscionable that there are some people who are playing politics with this young woman’s tragic murder — and particularly at a time when, let’s not forget, House Republicans are standing in the way of a bipartisan border security agreement that is the toughest bill we have ever seen in history. And they’re doing so because Donald Trump feels that the American people’s safety is less important than his personal politics. That’s the fact,” Dalton said.
Ibarra remains jailed for the alleged kidnapping and beating death of Riley during her morning jog near the University of Georgia campus.
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