Laken Riley’s grieving mother branded President Biden ‘pathetic’ for fumbling her daughter’s name in his State of the Union speech.
Allyson Phillips, the murdered 22-year-old’s stricken mom, responded to a Facebook comment on Friday to slam Biden for even bringing her murdered daughter into his political moment.
‘Biden does not even KNOW my child’s name – it pathetic!’ she wrote. ‘If you are going to say her name (even when forced to do so) at least say the right name!’
The 81-year-old sparked backlash after referring to Riley, who was allegedly murdered by an illegal immigrant, as ‘Lincoln’ in his address.
Allyson Phillips (right), the mother of slain Laken Riley (left) slammed Biden as ‘pathetic’ after he accidentally called the murdered 22-year-old ‘Lincoln’
The heartbroken mom took to Facebook to condemn Biden for even bringing her daughter up in his political moment
Riley was found dead on the University of Georgia campus on February 22 after allegedly being murdered by an illegal immigrant
President Biden holds a pin for slain Georgia student Laken Riley during his State of the Union speech, before he accidentally called her ‘Lincoln’
Riley was found dead on the University of Georgia campus on February 22 after leaving her home for a run, suffering blunt force trauma to the head allegedly inflicted by illegal immigrant Jose Ibarra, in what investigators said was a ‘crime of opportunity.’
The murder took center stage on Thursday evening as President Biden delivered his State of the Union address.
Firebrand Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene heckled the speech shouting ‘say her name’ when the immigration arose, after previously handing Biden a pin bearing Riley’s name.
‘Lincoln, Lincoln Riley,’ Biden said, holding up the pin. ‘An innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal.
‘But how many of thousands of people being killed by legals? To her parents I say my heart goes out to you, having lost children myself, I understand,’ he said.
The murder has been seen by many as a touchstone moment in the struggle to contain illegal immigration, with former President Donald Trump revealing he also spoke with Riley’s parents after her murder.
During a trip to the southern border last week, Trump said he spoke with the grieving parents shortly after charges were brought against Ibarra, saying they are ‘incredible people’ who are ‘devastated beyond belief.’
‘(Riley) she was beautiful, just so beautiful in so many ways. And brutally assaulted, horrifically beaten, kidnapped and savagely murdered,’ he said.
Venezuelan illegal immigrant Jose Ibarra, 26, (pictured) has been charged with Riley’s murder, and was previously arrested on theft and child endangerment charges
After Riley’s senseless murder shocked the nation, Phillips said she was comforted by how her ‘sweet Laken knew Jesus personally and she will live eternally in his home’
The Laken Riley Act passed the House of Representatives on Thursday in a 251-170 vote, which would require ICE to detain illegal immigrants charged with theft or burglary. Her mother responded to the passage: ‘Praise God!’
It comes after Phillips praised lawmakers for passing a landmark immigration bill in her daughter’s name on Thursday, just ours before Biden’s fumbling of her name in his SOTU speech.
The Laken Riley Act passed the House of Representatives on Thursday in a 251-170 vote, which would require ICE to detain illegal immigrants charged with theft or burglary.
It was pushed by Republicans in the wake of Riley’s murder, allegedly at the hands of illegal immigrant Ibarra, who had previously been arrested in New York for endangering a child and in Georgia again in October 2023 on shoplifting charges.
The passage of the bill this week led Riley’s mom Allyson Phillips to take to Facebook, saying: ‘Praise God! #SayHerName LAKEN HOPE RILEY BILL – PASSED.’
The misspoken name sparked anger among Republicans, who blamed Riley’s murder on the White House’s weak border policies that have led to record levels of illegal immigration.
Phillips previously spoke out following her daughter’s murder, and said on social media that she was comforted by how her ‘sweet Laken knew Jesus personally and she will live eternally in his home.’
In response to the killing, Georgia GOP Rep. Mike Collins introduced the bill in her name, as he stressed that Ibarra ‘had no business being in this country.’
‘(The murder) was another wakeup call as Americans experience an illegal alien crime wave because of Joe Biden’s open border and local sanctuary city policies,’ Collins told Fox News this week.
After the lower house passed his bill Thursday, he took to X to ‘urge the Senate to take up this bill immediately.’
Riley was found dead on the University of Georgia campus after leaving her home for a run, suffering blunt force trauma to the head allegedly inflicted by Ibarra
Firebrand Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene heckled Biden’s speech shouting ‘say her name’ after handing Biden a pin bearing Riley’s name
His bill would require ICE to detain any criminal charged with theft or burglary that was found to be staying in the US illegally, but was voted against by 170 Democrats in the House.
Just 37 Democrats joined every Republican in supporting the bill, with New York Congressman Jerry Nadler leading the opposition as he accused the GOP of ‘exploiting (Riley’s) death for a partisan stunt.’
He also accused Republicans of ‘throwing together legislation to target immigrants in an election year’, a claim countered by those that felt it was long overdue.
After the passage of the bill, House Speaker Mike Johnson stressed that ‘Laken Riley would still be alive if the Biden Administration had done its job.’
‘House Republicans are not going to stand by quietly while the President and his administration release dangerous criminals into our communities,’ Johnson said in a statement.
‘The Laken Riley Act would help prevent future tragedies. If Senator Schumer and President Biden care to protect Americans and are serious about securing the border, they will bring this legislation up for a vote and sign it into law immediately.’
Biden’s decision to speak on Riley’s murder sparked anger among some Democrats on Thursday, after he called the alleged murderer an ‘illegal’ in an ad-libbed moment.
The awkward intra-party clash came during the heckling from Greene, as she demanded he say the name of the murdered nursing student allegedly killed by the Venezuelan immigrant.
His use of the term ‘illegal’ sparked anger, with Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) tweeting afterwards that ‘No human being is illegal.’
‘Let me be clear: No human being is illegal,’ wrote ‘squad’ member Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who immigrated from Somalia.
‘I’m extremely disappointed to hear President Biden use the word ‘illegal,’ wrote Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-Ill.) calling himself a ‘proud immigrant.’
‘There was a lot of good in President Biden’s speech tonight, but his rhetoric about immigrants was incendiary and wrong,’ wrote Rep. Joaquin Catro (D-Texas) in a trio of tweets. ‘My guest for this year’s State of the Union was the widow of a North Texas rancher who was murdered by a neighbor who didn’t want Latinos living next door. Across Texas, many families can tell similar stories of hate and harassment inspired by the rhetoric of Donald Trump.
‘The rhetoric President Biden used tonight was dangerously close to language from Donald Trump that puts a target on the backs of Latinos everywhere. Democrats shouldn’t be taking our cues from MAGA extremism.’