As per the White House, Biden ‘Did Not Apologize’ for Referring to Laken Riley’s Murderer as ‘Illegal'

Recently President Joe Biden expressed regret for calling the person who is suspected of killing Laken Riley an "illegal" during his State of the Union address. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of the GOP heckled Biden to mention the name of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was slain in Georgia last month, and Biden responded with the "illegal" remark during an impromptu conversation with her.

As reported by The New York Post, White House deputy spokeswoman Olivia Dalton tried to set the record straight on Monday by assuring a reporter that "the president absolutely did not apologize."

As per the outlet, Dalton informed Air Force One reporters, "There was no apology anywhere in that conversation. He did not apologize. He used a different word. I think what we should be really clear about is the facts." Reporters questioned Dalton about remarks made by Biden when he was asked about the incident in an MSNBC interview that aired on Saturday, during which he expressed sorrow for using the epithet.

The spokesperson further clarified, "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, naught 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 front of the entire country in the House chamber."

In an interview recorded in Atlanta when the president was hosting a campaign rally and speaking with small business owners, he told MSNBC's Jonathan Capehart, "I shouldn’t have used illegal, it’s undocumented." Republicans, including former president Donald Trump, took exception to Biden's interview remark. At a rally in Georgia on Saturday, Trump claimed, "Joe Biden went on television and apologized for calling Laken's murderer an illegal. Biden should be apologizing for apologizing to this killer."

Biden continued in the interview to indicate that he discussed immigration as a group while giving his speech. As reported by NBC, he told Capehart, "And look, when I spoke about the difference between Trump and me, one of the things I talked about in the border was that his -- the way he talks about 'vermin' and the way he talks about these people 'polluting the blood. I talked about what I'm not going to do, what I won't do. I'm not going to treat any, any, any of these people with disrespect."

The debate highlighted the ways in which Republicans, emboldened by their dissatisfaction with the Biden administration's management of the U.S.-Mexico border during a historic influx of migrants into the nation, have turned Riley's death into a focal issue of the 2024 campaign and a rallying cry. She was murdered, according to charges brought against a Venezuelan immigrant who entered the country illegally.