GOP Sen. Katie Britt Defends Sharing Misleading Human Trafficking Story In Response To Biden’s State Of The Union

Sen. Katie Britt (R-Alabama) defended her use of a misleading human trafficking story in her response to President Joe Biden‘s State of the Union address.

In Britt’s response, the senator made a point to criticize Biden’s border and immigration policies. Britt also blamed Biden for the murder of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley whom Biden said was killed by “an illegal.”

Britt then used the story of a young woman who was trafficked between 2004 and 2008 in Mexico to further attack Biden without mentioning that the case occurred decades earlier. Britt’s story sparked criticism on social media and other human trafficking victims who felt exploited.

Britt also claimed the United States is more dangerous under Biden’s presidency than it was four years ago under Trump.

In a Fox News interview, Britt refused to apologize for misleading the audience.

“If you look back under 2018, it was a $500 million industry, human trafficking by the drug cartels,” Britt said. “It is now a $13 billion industry. The drug cartels are winning under this. This is a story of what is happening now.”

Britt’s performance was widely panned by people across the political spectrum. It was even mocked during Saturday Night Live‘s cold open last week.

Biden’s State of the Union address received generally positive reviews. Sixty percent of viewers felt his policies would “move the country in the right direction.”