'Didn’t even mention her name': Mother of woman killed by migrant says Trump exploited her

01 November 2024

One cornerstone of former President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign is the mass deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants, broadly labeling them as violent criminals who are draining American resources. But one person directly connected to a viral migrant crime story is accusing the ex-president of shamelessly exploiting her daughter's murder for political gain.

In a detailed feature for Rolling Stone published on Friday, journalist Asawin Suebsaeng reported on the death of 20 year-old University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbets — who was killed by an undocumented immigrant in 2018 — and interviewed her mother, Laura Calderwood, about how politics has affected her in the aftermath of Tibbetts' death. Calderwood recalled how Trump, who was president at the time of Tibbetts' murder, exploited her death for political gain during a campaign rally the same day as her daughter's funeral.

During that rally, Trump referred to Tibbetts as "that incredible, beautiful, young woman" and used her murder as a jump-off point to propose draconian new immigration laws. Calderwood said she watched Trump's speech as she was changing out of her funeral clothes.

"You have got to be kidding me,” Calderwood said, recalling how she felt when seeing him speak. “You didn’t even mention her name. Really? That girl? Everyone else in the country knew her name… I’m just trying to finish up this day that no parent should ever have to go through, and now you’re on television, bringing her up, and you can’t mention her name?"

"I would have thought he would’ve had handlers who said, ‘This is the name of the girl’ … I knew he was trying to further his agenda," she continued. "It wasn’t about Mollie. It was about him.”

Trump's response was different than the response Calderwood got from elected officials representing both parties. Iowa Republican Governor Kim Reynolds called her after Tibbetts went missing to offer what Suebsaeng described as "apolitical words of support and kindness." After her body was found, Calderwood said Reynolds "was the first person to call me, and she was sobbing."

Calderwood also heard from former President Bill Clinton, who sent her a letter in the mail later that year. But she noted that despite Trump campaigning on Tibbetts' death, neither he nor anyone representing his administration or campaign ever once tried to contact her.

"No one ever reached out,” she told Suebsaeng. “Nothing.”

Tibbetts was initially reported missing after she left for a jog. Roughly a month later, her body was found in a cornfield in Poweshiek County, Iowa, and police arrested 24 year-old Cristhian Bahena Rivera, whose car was seen following Tibbets while she was jogging. He was found guilty of first-degree murder in 2021, and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Rivera was later found to be an undocumented immigrant who worked at the dairy farm owned by Craig Lang, who is a prominent Republican leader in the Hawkeye State. As part of his employment, Rivera was allowed to live rent-free on Lang's land.

Click here to read Rolling Stone's report in its entirety (subscription required).

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