THE mother of a young nursing student who was murdered last month has branded President Joe Biden “pathetic” for mixing up her name during his State of the Union address.
In his State of the Union speech on Thursday night, Biden seemingly pronounced Laken Riley‘s name as “Lincoln.”
Lincoln Riley is the name of the University of Southern California’s head football coach.
“Lincoln Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal,” the president said. “But how many thousands of people are being killed by legals?”
“To her parents, I say my heart goes out to you. Having lost children myself, I understand.”
It was an off-script moment after Georgia Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene shouted “Say her name!” in the middle of Biden’s remarks about the border crisis.
Wearing a Make America Great Again hat and a T-shirt with the same message, Greene had approached the president before his speech and confronted him while holding up a button with Riley’s name on it.
Greene also wore buttons featuring 22-year-old Riley’s face.
On Friday, after being alerted about the gaffe, Laken’s heartbroken mother wrote a scathing Facebook post.
“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!” wrote Allyson Phillips.
Former President Donald Trump said he spoke with Riley’s parents while he visited the southern border last month.
“The parents are devastated, and they’re incredible people,” he said. “This is a Joe Biden invasion. A Biden invasion. I call him crooked Joe… the most incompetent president we’ve ever had.”
Trump described Riley as a “beautiful 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia” who was “barbarically attacked” as she was on a morning run.
“I spoke to her parents yesterday. They are incredible people. They are devastated beyond belief. She was so beautiful in so many ways,” he said.
HORRIFIC MURDER
Riley, a student at Augusta University’s off-campus program the College of Nursing in Athens, was reported missing by a friend on February 22 after she left for a jog but never returned.
Police later found her beaten to death on UGA campus.
Jose Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old migrant from Venezuela, was arrested the next day and police chief Jeffrey L. Clark said that a “robust” amount of evidence made him the prime suspect.
Ibarra lived in an apartment behind Oconee Forest Park, where Riley’s body was found.
“At this stage, we believe he did not know her at all,” Clark said.
“I think this was a crime of opportunity where he saw an individual and bad things happened.”
Ibarra has been charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call, and concealing the death of another.
Ibarra entered the US illegally and he was reportedly released from federal custody due to a lack of detention space.
“U.S. Customs and Border Protection arrested Ibarra on September 8, 2022, after he unlawfully entered the United States near El Paso, Texas,” read a statement from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“He was paroled and released for further processing.”
Ibarra’s brother, Diego Ibarra, 29, was also arrested on separate charges after he allegedly showed investigators a fake green card when they questioned him about his brother.
Diego has links to the deadly Tren de Aragua gang in Venezuela, according to the Department of Justice.
MORE BLOWBACK FOR BIDEN
Biden’s referring to Ibarra as an “illegal” drew criticism from his peers, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said he should have used the term “undocumented.”
Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, also expressed disappointment with the president.
“I wish he hadn’t engaged with Marjorie Taylor Greene and used the word ‘illegal,’” she told the Associated Press after the speech.
When asked about his choice of words at Joint Base Andrews on Friday, Biden struggled to form a response.
“Well, I probably, uhhhh, I don’t re— it, uhhh…technically not supposed to be here,” he said.
Riley’s parents were invited to attend the State of the Union address by GOP Rep Mike Collins, however, they turned him down.
“They have chosen to stay home as they grieve the loss of their daughter,” Collins wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Therefore, the seat reserved for my guest will remain vacant to honor Laken and all American victims of illegal alien crime.”
