Biden Responds To Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Immigration Heckling At State Of The Union Address

In Thursday’s State of the Union address, President Joe Biden engaged in an unexpected exchange with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) after she interrupted him with heckling remarks on immigration and urged him to acknowledge the death of a University of Georgia student.

As Biden discussed a bipartisan border security bill in the Senate that faced opposition, including from former President Donald Trump, Greene, a staunch Trump ally, called out the name “Laken Riley,” a student killed by an undocumented Venezuelan migrant in 2022, according to police reports. Greene wore a red “Make America Great Again” hat as she sat in the chamber. (Wearing hats in the House chamber is against the rules.)

Biden paused his speech and said, “Laken Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal. That’s right… 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.”

Biden emphasized the need to address the border situation and then urged Republican lawmakers to support the bipartisan Senate border security bill, which aims to enhance border security, impose restrictions on certain asylum claims and deport migrants faster. Additionally, Biden sought to draw a contrast between his own approach and the rhetoric of Trump, his anticipated opponent in the November general election.

“If my predecessor is watching, instead of playing politics and pressuring members of Congress to block this bill, join me in urging Congress to pass it,” Biden appealed. “We can do it together. But here’s what I will not do. I will not demonize immigrants saying they ‘poison the blood of our country’ as he said in his own words.”

Trump recently told a rally crowd that Greene is “very respected in Congress.”