MSNBC's Chris Hayes inadvertently bashes Biden's 'Lincoln Riley' gaffe: 'Couldn’t be bothered' to check name

Liberal MSNBC host Chris Hayes unwittingly knocked President Biden for botching slain nursing student Laken Riley's name during last week's State of the Union address. 

Riley has dominated national headlines after the 21-year-old was found dead in Athens, Georgia, after having gone missing while on a run. The suspect charged with her murder is an illegal immigrant, adding fuel to the intense nationwide immigration debate. 

In one of the most talked-about moments from Biden's speech, he sparred with Rep. Marjorie Taylore Greene, R-Ga., who challenged him to say Riley's name. 

Biden tried to accept the challenge, but called her "Lincoln Riley" instead.  

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President Biden drew intense backlash for referring to slain nursing student Laken Riley as "Lincoln" during last week's State of the Union address. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

On Tuesday's show, Hayes championed Biden's reelection bid, making the case that Americans are better off now than they were four years ago under former President Trump, putting a spotlight on how rates of violent crime have gone down since 2020. 

"So, compared to four years ago when Trump was president, these are just the facts, ok- the country is safer," Hayes told viewers before claiming they were more prosperous under Biden. 

His comments were shared on social media, which had one anonymous X user sarcastically replying, "Lincoln Riley agrees."

Hayes fired back, apparently not realizing "Lincoln" was said as an intentional reference to Biden's gaffe. The "All In" host tried to seize on what he thought was the user's mistake, mockingly tweeting, "He cares so much about this young woman he couldn’t be bothered to take three seconds to google the spelling of her name."

MSNBC's Chris Hayes raised eyebrows for his post blasting an X user's reference to "Lincoln Riley," not knowing it was a jab at President Biden. (Screenshot/X)

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Critics had fun at the expense of the "All In" host for not even knowing about Biden's "Lincoln" comment and thus taking a swipe at the president.

"How embarrassing for @chrislhayes," Washington Free Beacon reporter Chuck Ross reacted. "He doesn't realize he's actually dunking on Joe Biden for referring to Laken Riley as ‘Lincoln’ during the State of the Union. Shows you the bubble these liberal journos live in."

"Who wants to tell him?" Red State writer Bonchie quipped. 

MSNBC did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. 

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes argued the country is "safer" and "more prosperous" under President Biden than under former President Trump. (Getty Images)

Last week, Hayes took a purposeful swipe at the president leading up to the State of the Union address for not having laid out his second term "vision."

"I can tell you the Biden 2020 platform," Hayes said last week. "It was to get COVID under control, it was to then begin bringing the economy out of the depths through investment in the middle class and through infrastructure investment, and to rejoin Paris [Climate Accord] and invest in clean energy, and to restore our relationships. That's what they did. Like they said they were gonna do it, they did it."

He continued, "I can't really tell you right now what the second term Biden vision looks like yet. And I do think that's- I mean, when you talk about elections are about the future, right? Americans are very future-oriented people. That, to me, strikes me. Particularly going to the State of the Union tomorrow, which is a kind of unveiling, I've been thinking about how important that is."

Joseph A. Wulfsohn is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and on Twitter: @JosephWulfsohn.