‘Lincoln Riley’ becomes trending topic for worst reason

Apr 23, 2022; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans coach Lincoln Riley during the spring game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

USC head coach Lincoln Riley became a trending topic on social media Thursday night for an unfortunate reason.

The term “Lincoln Riley” trended on X and other social media platforms during president Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address. During the speech, Biden was pressured by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and other conservative lawmakers to address the recent murder of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old Augusta University nursing student who was killed by an illegal immigrant last month while she was jogging on the University of Georgia campus in Athens.

Biden eventually obliged and held up a pin that Greene had given him prior to his speech. The pin said “Say Her Name Laken Riley.” When Biden addressed the murder, many viewers and listeners believed he said “Lincoln” instead of “Laken” and confused the victim’s name with that of the USC coach.

You can see the video below:

Joe Biden just confused Laken Riley, a college student killed by an illegal immigrant, with USC football coach Lincoln Riley. This just happened. The man’s brain is mush. Incredibly disrespectful. pic.twitter.com/SxYP3k174X

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) March 8, 2024

Police say 26-year-old Venezuelan migrant Jose Antonio Ibarra murdered Riley as a “crime of opportunity.” Ibarra, who is in the United States illegally, was released near the Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, in September 2022. Before he allegedly murdered Riley, Ibarra was arrested in New York for endangering a child and in Georgia for shoplifting.

It was difficult to tell whether Biden said “Lincoln” or “Laken,” but Trojans coach Lincoln Riley probably was not thrilled that his name got caught up in such a sensitive topic.