Former President Bill Clinton’s suggestion that Georgia nursing student Laken Riley would still be alive if the border had been secured was seen as a slight against the Biden-Harris administration Monday.
Clinton campaigned for Vice President Kamala Harris in Georgia Sunday where he accused former President Trump of purposefully tanking bipartisan border negotiations because he wanted to make it a campaign issue. Clinton brought up Riley’s story, saying if her alleged killer, an illegal immigrant, had been “properly vetted” she wouldn’t have been murdered.
“On the immigration thing, [Kamala’s] the only candidate who has actually endorsed a bill that would hold down immigration any given year to a certain point and then made sure we gave people a decent place to live, didn’t divide people from their children. And we did total vetting before people got in. Now, Trump killed the bill. The bill was being written by senior Republicans in the Senate, and he killed the bill. Why?” Clinton said.
Former President Bill Clinton’s speech in Columbus, Georgia on Monday heavily featured the issue of the border. (Getty Images)
“You had a case in Georgia not very long ago, didn’t you? They made an ad about it, a young woman who had been killed by an immigrant. Yeah, well, if they’d all been properly vetted that probably wouldn’t have happened. But if they’re all properly vetted, that doesn’t happen,” he added.
LAKEN RILEY’S DEATH A ‘VERY CONCERNING’ WAKE-UP CALL ON EXTENT OF MIGRANT CRISIS, SHERIFF SAYS
Many X users mocked Clinton’s comments as an inadvertent ad for Trump, pointing out Riley’s death occurred under the Biden-Harris administration.
“Harris campaign must be kicking themselves for dragging Bill out on the trail,” Sen. Josh Hawley communications director Abigail Jackson wrote.
Fox News contributor Guy Benson commented, “He gets some credit for at least acknowledging that Riley was murdered, & he’s right that her accused killer, an illegal immigrant, wasn’t properly vetted by the Biden-Harris admin.”
An illegal immigrant allegedly murdered Georgia nursing student Laken Riley earlier this year. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital/ Laken Riley/ Jose Ibarra)
OutKick’s Clay Travis wrote, “Bill Clinton says Laken Riley would still be alive if Kamala and Biden had done their job and vetted border crossings.”
“Great case against voting for the kinds of tragic and deadly policies that Kamala Harris would no doubt continue. Thanks, @BillClinton!” Twitchy’s Doug Powers joked.
Donald Trump Jr. agreed, “Even Slick Willy knows that Border Czar Kamala Harris is responsible for allowing the illegal alien who murdered Laken Riley into our country!”
“Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to let ‘the big dog’ off the leash,” RealClearPolitics White House reporter Phillip Melanchthon Wegmann said.
Digital strategist Greg Price remarked, “He said this while campaigning FOR her. Lmfao.”
BORDER RESIDENTS SPEAK OUT AGAINST KAMALA HARRIS’ RECORD ON SECURITY: ‘EVERYTHING IS LITERALLY OPEN’
US Customs and Border Protection told Fox News Digital earlier this year that Jose Ibarra, who was accused of murdering Laken Riley, had been vetted and paroled in 2022. (Fox News Digital)
The alleged killer, Jose Antonio Ibarra, was encountered by Customs and Border Patrol on Sept. 8, 2022, after illegally entering near El Paso, Texas, and was “paroled and released for further processing.” He was also arrested in New York City on Aug. 31, 2023. Riley was killed Feb. 22.
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Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.