Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been slammed for insisting that President Joe Biden “should have said undocumented” when he referred to Laken Riley’s alleged killer as an “illegal” at his State of the Union Address.
The California Democrat made the eyebrow-raising remark during an interview on CNN after the president’s fiery speech.
“Madam speaker, one of the clearly ad-libbed moments was during the section about immigration,” CNN anchor Dana Bash said before playing a clip of Biden’s remarks.
The president referred to the slain 22-year-old nursing student as “Lincoln Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal,” botching her first name.
“Now he should have said undocumented, but that’s not a big thing, OK? What’s the big thing?” Pelosi said in response.
Bash said she wasn’t going to ask about the term “illegal,” which is considered politically incorrect by progressive lawmakers, but rather about the crime.
“Well, we usually say ‘undocumented.’ He said ‘illegal.’ I don’t think it’s a big deal. I don’t think it’s a big deal because I think his focus was on the sympathy for the family. It’s a terrible tragedy,” Pelosi said, harping on the matter.
“It’s a terrible situation that anybody losing a child or a family member. It’s a terrible situation, but I think he handled it well,” she added.
Jose Ibarra, 26, an illegal Venezuelan immigrant who crossed the southern border into El Paso, Texas, has been charged with Riley’s murder. The nursing student’s heartbroken parents turned down an invite to attend Biden’s address.
Social media users quickly ripped Pelosi for focusing on the language Biden used rather that his alleged shocking crime.
“Nancy Pelosi checks Joe Biden for referring to Laken Riley’s kiIIer as an illegal,” one disgusted viewer said on X.
“Yeah, because that’s what’s important here. These people are vile,” he continued.
“Nancy Pelosi is more concerned that Joe Biden called the criminal alien that murdered Laken Riley an ‘illegal’ than she is about Laken Riley’s death,” another seethed.
“She is a MONSTER!!!!” a third wrote.
Hours before Biden’s speech, the House passed a bill dubbed the Laken Riley Act, which would require the detention of any migrant who committed burglary or theft.