Former President Donald Trump met the family of Laken Riley Saturday night at a Georgia campaign rally.
Trump was photographed embracing members of the murdered nursing student’s family before taking the stage in Rome, located right outside of Atlanta, according to the New York Post. Riley’s body was found late February near a lake at the University of Georgia (UGA) campus after she was allegedly beaten to death by an illegal migrant.
Our country is at a crossroads. This is the choice! https://t.co/R6G3UgER61
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) March 10, 2024
The prospective Republican presidential nominee’s campaign distributed posters of Riley’s photo with phrases like “Say her name” and “Remember our angels” written on them, ABC News reported.
Trump tore into President Joe Biden for incorrectly saying Riley’s name Thursday during his 2024 State of The Union address, blaming the Democratic president’s policies for Riley’s murder. Biden called the deceased 22-year-old “Lincoln” instead of Laken after being heckled by Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to “say her name.”
“He’s got no remorse, he’s got no regret. He’s got no empathy,” Trump said of Biden. “No compassion, and worst of all, he has no intention of stopping the deadly invasion that stole precious Laken’s beautiful, American life.”
At his rally in Georgia tonight, President Trump called out @joebiden for having no empathy for the victims of illegal aliens. He also announced that Laken Riley’s family and friends were in attendance at his rally, and he said he shares their grief.
Trump is an amazing man. pic.twitter.com/EsBjgyCxsi
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) March 10, 2024
Allyson Phillips, the mother of the late Riley, criticized Biden in a Facebook comment. She wrote, “Biden does not even KNOW my child’s name — it’s pathetic! If you are going to say her name (even when forced to do so) at least say the right name!” (RELATED: ‘They Don’t Get It’: CNN Panelist Calls Out Cackling MSNBC Hosts)
Biden apologized Saturday for referring to Riley’s alleged murderer as “an illegal” during his State of The Union speech, saying that he should have used the term “undocumented” instead. Biden told MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart that unlike Trump, he didn’t want to “treat any of these people with disrespect.”