As we've covered before, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre hasn't had the best response to the murder of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley, whose alleged killer is an illegal immigrant from Venezuela who had been previously arrested. Jean-Pierre was asked during Tuesday's press briefing if President Joe Biden would bring up Riley at his State of the Union address, and her response certainly was lacking.
"Will President Biden publicly address Laken Riley’s murder, allegedly at the hands of an illegal immigrant who was released by law enforcement multiple times, on Thursday night? I know he’s put out a statement," a reporter mentioned. "But what about at the State of the Union?"
Reading from her binder, Jean-Pierre began by paying lip service as she referred to Riley's death as "such a tragic story and, obviously, situation. This is someone’s life that was lost, so I do want to always acknowledge and extend our deepest condolences to--to her family and to her friends and the people who--who loved her. And so, want to always be sure to say that and--because it’s so tragic," Jean-Pierre said.
She went on to admit, however, that "I don’t have anything to share about the president’s speech as it relates to that particular question that you have," claiming "but we--you know, we want to always--always be sure that we li--lift up the families who have lost their loved ones in that way."
Jean-Pierre then devoted her answer to Biden's border trip and blaming Republicans for killing the disastrous border bill last month. "And I would be remiss if I did not continue to say that Republicans rejected a bipartisan proposal that came out of the Senate. And so, if they truly, truly cared about what was going on at the border; if they truly cared about this immigration policies and trying to fix that, trying to move forward in a step, in a way where we have a tough and fair law, they would work with us on it," she claimed. "They wouldn’t listen to the former president, who is clearly telling them to reject--telling Republicans to reject it for their--for his own political gain. And that’s shameful. That’s truly shameful."
Q: Will Biden publicly address Laken Riley's murder at the State of the Union?
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 5, 2024
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: "I don't have anything to share" pic.twitter.com/3pFQdTy7lg
Such a response, if we can call it that, is what Jean-Pierre went with when she spoke to CNN last week. Not only did she barely address Riley's death, which involved not saying the young woman's name or how the accused is here illegally, she also her answer going after Republicans. And then she has the audacity to call Republicans "shameful."
It's an awfully bold tactic, given how Biden has been president for three years and the border crisis has exploded under his watch. For all of his claims otherwise, the president has the authority to enforce the law when it comes to the border. It's also worth reminding that Democrats have also controlled the Senate for all of Biden's presidency, and that he enjoyed two years of the House being under Democratic control as well. Further, Biden issued an executive order on his first day in office that terminated the emergency at the southern border and ended construction of the border wall.
But, now that it's an election year, Biden and his fellow Democrats are really scrambling on the issue. Not surprisingly, immigration is his worst issue, according to RealClearPolling.
Republican members have reacted with a willingness to say Riley's name when the president and his administration will not. During his Sunday appearance on CBS News' "Face the Nation," Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas offered similar platitudes while he also read from notes and wouldn't mention the victim's name.
Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) actually sent a letter to Biden on Monday, calling on him to acknowledge's Riley's murder on Thursday. "At just six years old, Laken knew she wanted to be a nurse so she could help people. She was living her dream until it was shattered by Joe Biden’s wide-open border. This was a totally avoidable tragedy. President Biden owes it to her family and the American people to say her name," Banks also said.
Banks has been speaking out at length about the administration's failure to properly address the young woman's murder, including in a post that referred to Jean-Pierre's non-answer from Tuesday as a "filibuster." He also noted that Jean-Pierre wouldn't even say Riley's name.
An illegal immigrant released by the Biden administration brutally murdered 22-year-old Laken Riley.
— Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) March 4, 2024
Joe Biden has refused to say her name.
I’m calling on President Biden to acknowledge this tragic loss at his State of the Union. #SOTU pic.twitter.com/jFyEdXqyAn
.@PressSec wouldn’t even say Laken Riley’s name during her 2 minute filibuster.
— Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) March 5, 2024
SHAMEFUL! https://t.co/qIEiZwNos1
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) has also posted about Riley's murder and the administration's response along with "#SayHerName."
Riley's mother has made her Facebook profile image a heart with her daughter's name and the hashtag, as Kari Lake, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Arizona shared.
Joe Biden handed a murderer the American Dream that Laken Riley should be living right now.
— Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) March 5, 2024
It’s been two weeks since an illegal alien and a known violent criminal murdered 22-year-old Laken Riley. Joe Biden, your silence is deafening.
SAY HER NAME, MR. PRESIDENT.…
Her name was Laken Riley.
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) March 3, 2024
And my heart breaks for her entire family.#SayHerName https://t.co/AOReCrSrPo
Join the conversation as a VIP Member