Former President Donald Trump took a jab at President Joe Biden on Monday with a social media post that compared the two’s responses to the death of Laken Riley, a University of Georgia student who was allegedly kidnapped and murdered by an undocumented immigrant last month.
In a screenshot shared to Truth Social from the X account “End Wokeness,” Trump highlighted how he had hugged Riley’s parents at a rally in Georgia while Biden recently apologized for referring to the 22-year-old’s killer, Venezuelan José Antonio Ibarra, as an “illegal.”
“Trump hugs Laken Riley’s grieving parents as Biden apologizes to her killer,” End Wokeness wrote. “I have never seen a clearer contrast.
Biden’s remark came during his recent State of the Union (SOTU) address. The president later apologized for using the term in an interview with MSNBC.
“I shouldn’t have used illegal—it’s undocumented,” Biden said, going on to say Trump’s harsh rhetoric toward immigrants was problematic.
Trump responded to the apology during a rally in Georgia, where he met Riley’s parents, by accusing Biden of essentially siding with the accused murderer.
“Joe Biden went on television and apologized for calling Laken’s murderer an illegal,” Trump said. “Biden should be apologizing for apologizing to this killer.”
The matter had already been exacerbated by the fact that the president incorrectly referred to the deceased woman as “Lincoln” after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) interrupted the SOTU to demand that Biden “say her name.”
Riley’s mother, Allyson Philips, responded to Biden’s slip-up by calling him “pathetic” in a post on Facebook.
“Biden does not even KNOW my child’s name – it [sic] pathetic!” she said.
Riley’s murder has become a focal point of the ongoing debate over immigration in the U.S.
Following Laken’s murder, the House of Representatives passed the Laken Riley Act, which requires federal agents to detain undocumented migrants who have committed burglary or theft.
Trump has repeatedly blamed Biden for Laken’s fate by pointing to the current administration’s policies at the border.
“Biden has implemented a formal policy that illegal aliens who intrude into the United States are granted immunity from deportation,” Trump said during his Georgia rally. “Thus, when this monster showed up at our border, he was set free immediately under the program. That crooked Joe created it.”
Trump has vowed, if elected, to carry out the largest deportation in U.S. history. Although Biden agreed to sign legislation toughening immigration laws, the proposal was eventually shot down by Republicans after Trump expressed his opposition. Biden has since accused Republicans of purposely keeping the border issue alive in order to secure votes.
