The co-chair of President Joe Biden's reelection campaign on Friday said Biden "probably" should not have used the word "illegal" during his State of the Union address to describe the undocumented immigrant who allegedly killed a nursing student in Georgia.
"He probably should've used a different word and I think he would know that. But what you should notice about that is not that he made a small mistake," Mitch Landrieu said on CNN.
"The big thing that he didn't write, and this is what this president always does, is express empathy to people, he expressed kindness to people. He understands because, as you know, he lost a number of children in his life."
During the speech, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., heckled Biden to acknowledge the death of Laken Riley as he was discussing the border.
"Laken Riley," Biden said, appearing to mispronounce her name, "an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal. To her parents, I say, my heart goes out to you having lost children myself. I understand."
Jose Antonio Ibarra, the suspect charged in Riley's death, unlawfully entered the U.S. near El Paso, Texas, in September 2022. He was paroled and released for further processing after entering, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Several Democrats criticized Biden for using the term "illegal."
Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, said it was "dangerously close to language from Donald Trump that puts a target on the backs of Latinos everywhere."
Rep. Chuy Garcia, D-Ill., said he was "extremely disappointed."