Wolf Blitzer, the CNN host, was corrected by a guest on Wednesday after he misinterpreted comments made by President Donald Trump regarding illegal immigration.
Trump referred to the alleged killer of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley as an “animal” during a campaign event in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Tuesday.
Blitzer, following a post from the Biden campaign, wrongly stated on “CNN Newsroom with Wolf Blitzer” that Trump had called immigrants “animals.”
Republican strategist Scott Jennings then clarified the statement on air.
“I listened to the entire tape,” Jennings told Blitzer.
“He was specifically talking about the person who murdered Laken Riley in Georgia, and to be honest with you, Wolf, if somebody murders another human being, I think they deserve to be called animals, and I don‘t think any American is really going to reject that kind of rhetoric.”
“That poor girl was murdered in cold blood,” Jennings added.
Watch:
Jose Antonio Ibarra, an immigrant from Venezuela who illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border, was apprehended by University of Georgia authorities and accused of the murder of Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, on February 23rd.
“The 22-year-old nursing student in Georgia who was barbarously murdered by an illegal alien animal,” Trump said during the Tuesday campaign appearance.
“The Democrats say ‘please don’t call them animals. They’re humans.’
“I said no, they’re not humans. They’re animals.”
Trump and other members of the Republican party have brought attention to crimes committed by undocumented immigrants following the tragic murder of Riley.
They have criticized President Joe Biden for overturning several border policies implemented by Trump at the beginning of his presidency.
The Biden-Harris HQ account shared a video clip of Trump speaking at an event in Michigan but omitted important details to manipulate the narrative and make it seem like Trump was discussing immigrants as a whole.
Trump: Democrats said please don’t call immigrants animals. I said, no, they’re not humans, they’re animals pic.twitter.com/yJ7fFHEUlh
— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) April 2, 2024
“You think he was only referring to those murderers, not referring in general to illegal immigrants who are coming into the United States?” Blitzer asked.
“I listened to the tape,” Jennings responded.
“That‘s exactly what he was talking about.”
