House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) criticized President Joe Biden‘s backtracking on referring to the main suspect of Laken Riley’s murder as an “illegal” immigrant.
Biden called the suspect an “illegal” during his annual State of the Union speech on Thursday, which was held only a couple weeks after Riley, a Georgia college student, was allegedly killed by an illegal immigrant from Venezuela. In his first interview after the speech, the president admitted that he should have used the term “undocumented” to describe the suspect.
“The president is cowering to his base and showing deference to a man who deserves none,” Johnson wrote on X in response to Biden’s interview comments. “This man is an illegal immigrant who brutally murdered Laken Riley.”
The president is cowering to his base and showing deference to a man who deserves none.
This man is an illegal immigrant who brutally murdered Laken Riley.
President Biden should be apologizing to Laken’s family.
What an embarrassment. pic.twitter.com/NhX0sxSbsM
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) March 10, 2024
Johnson went on to state that Biden ought to issue an apology to Riley’s parents, calling the president an “embarrassment.”
Prior to his recent interview, Biden had defended his choice of referring to Riley’s murder suspect as an illegal, as “he’s not supposed to be here.” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also defended Biden’s rhetoric on immigration by saying his remarks were focused on “not demonizing immigrants.”
Biden used the term “illegal” during his State of the Union speech when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) interrupted and shouted out to say Laken Riley’s name. The Georgia Congresswoman credited Biden for speaking the “truth” in an interview with Right Side Broadcasting Network.
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Former President Donald Trump held a rally in Rome, Georgia, on Saturday night, during which he also condemned the president for backtracking his comments. The former president is expected to be the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nominee, with a rematch between him and Biden likely to ensue this November.
The House of Representatives passed the Laken Riley Act on Thursday, which would require immigration officials to detain immigrants charged with crimes. The bill passed with a tally of 251 to 170, with 37 Democrats supporting the legislation.