White House Says Biden ‘Absolutely Did Not Apologize’ for Calling Immigrant an ‘Illegal’

President Biden used the term ‘illegal’ when talking about Jose Ibarra, a man accused of murder, during his State of the Union address last week.

President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address during a joint meeting of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol on March 7, 2024. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The White House claims that President Joe Biden “absolutely did not apologize” for using the term “illegal” to refer to an immigrant during his State of the Union speech, despite President Biden expressing regret over his words in a later interview.

During his State of the Union address last week, President Biden used the term “illegal” when talking about Jose Ibarra, the man accused of murdering 22-year-old Georgia nursing student Laken Riley. In a later March 10 interview with MSNBC, he said, “I shouldn’t have used ‘illegal’; it’s undocumented.”