Trump’s Face Overcome by Heartbreaking Expression We’ve Never Seen Before as Laken Riley’s Mom Breaks Down in Tears

The American people have seen President Donald Trump bloody but unbowed after an assassination attempt on the campaign trail.

They’ve seen him outraged at partisan lawfare that aimed to put him in prison to keep him from the presidency.

They’ve seen him victorious when the election results rolled in.

But there’s a good chance most Americans have never seen him the way he reacted on Wednesday.

The occasion was the signing of the Laken Riley Act, a law that requires federal detention for any illegal immigrant arrested and charged with a crime.

It’s aimed at preventing the kind of catch-and-release practice that allowed Jose Ibarra, an illegal immigrant and habitual criminal from Venezuela, to roam the country freely even after numerous arrests.

Ibarra’s days of freedom ended with his murdering Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student out for a run in Athens, Georgia, in February 2024.

Riley’s mother, Allyson Phillips, was speaking at the White House. Check out Trump’s expression about the 20-second mark. It’s the look of a man battling to keep control of his emotions.

An UNBELIEVABLE moment just happened, when Laken Riley’s mother starts breaking down in tears, thanking Jesus and President Trump for not letting her daughter’s death happen in vain.

pic.twitter.com/nRoNGVIbt6

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 29, 2025

Phillips’ message was both tragic and inspiring.

While she was clearly emotional as she thanked Trump for signing the law, and openly sobbing at one point, her faith was on full display.

“Most importantly, I want to thank our lord and savior, Jesus Christ,” Phillips said. “Because without his sacrifices, Laken’s story would have ended on that horrific day that she was taken from us.

“But because of Him, we can continue living, knowing that we will see Laken again.”

Considering that Trump campaigned on reclaiming the nation’s borders and keeping Americans safe from illegal immigration, it was fitting that the Laken Riley Act was the first legislation he’s signed in his second term in the White House.

And politically, of course, it was a winner. While the majority of the leftist Democratic Party might demur at actually apprehending criminals in the country illegally, many Democratic lawmakers signed on to the Laken Riley Act’s passage, if only as a means of political self-preservation.

But it looked like there was a lot more than politics going through Trump’s mind when Laken Riley’s mother spoke — and it wasn’t a reaction Americans see every day.

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