Former President Donald Trump is expected to join mourners at the wake of slain NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller on Long Island on Thursday.
“President Trump is moved by the invitation to join NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller’s family and colleagues as they deal with his senseless and tragic death,” Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s campaign spokeswoman, said in a statement, according to the New York Post.
BREAKING: NBC confirms that Trump will be attending the wake for Officer Diller in NYC tomorrow.
Diller was kiIIed by a career criminal with 21 previous arrests and nine felony charges.
Still no comment from Biden or the WH. pic.twitter.com/3YW6hyQ7FL
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) March 27, 2024
Beautiful sight of over 1,000 NYPD standing in respect for Officer Jonathan Diller at the Massapequa Funeral Home.
President Trump will be at his wake because he respects our police.
RIP Officer Jonathan Diller.
🫡 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/qjTsPBqK6T
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) March 27, 2024
Diller, a 31-year-old husband and father, was tragically killed in the line of duty during a routine traffic stop in Far Rockaway, Queens, on Monday evening.
President Trump will attend Police Officer Jonathan Diller’s
funeral. Joe Biden is going to a fundraiser which is also in New York, instead. Let’s be real. Who cares about the lives of Americans? https://t.co/8JOT2hgr0Y— JP ISAACS (@JohnIsa69517391) March 28, 2024
According to police, Diller was shot once in the stomach below his bulletproof vest by Guy Rivera, a career criminal with 21 prior arrests, after approaching the vehicle Rivera was sitting in for parking illegally.
Do police officers deserve more respect than they get?
Rivera allegedly opened fire as Diller approached and may have been planning an armed robbery or heist.
Diller’s partner returned fire and wounded Rivera, who was arrested along with the driver of the vehicle, ex-con Lindy Jones. A second gun was found in Jones’ car.
Despite being just three years into his career, Diller had already made over 70 arrests and was part of what his family called “the real Blue Bloods family” of NYPD officers. His brother-in-law and cousin are also police officers.
Loved ones have paid tribute to Diller, calling him a good man and great father whose “shoes can never be filled.” He leaves behind his wife, Stephanie, and one-year-old son, Ryan.
In February, President Joe Biden touted what he referred to as “large drops in crime rates” last year, during a White House meeting with police chiefs from major cities.
“Last year, the United States had one of the lowest rates of all violent crime in more than 50 years,” Biden told top police officials from cities including Chicago; Philadelphia; Miami; Detroit; Buffalo, New York; Milwaukee; Charlotte, North Carolina; and DeKalb County, Georgia,” according to Reuters.
But Joe Gamaldi, national vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police, thinks Biden is delusional.
“I don’t know what alternate reality he’s living in or what plan he’s talking about, but it ain’t working,” Garnaldi said on “Mornings with Maria” on Fox News.
“Murders are up 38 percent. Washington, D.C. carjackings are up 100 percent, and when you look nationwide, we’ve had over 20,000 homicides in the last three years. We haven’t seen those numbers in 30 years,” Garnaldi said.
“Retail theft is over $100 billion. There’s businesses closing left and right. There’s crime and disorder everywhere you look, so if President Biden really wants to help, how about he tell rogue DAs and activist judges who support these revolving door criminal justice policies to grow a spine and actually do their job? While he’s at it, why doesn’t he convince the rest of his party to stop treating cops like crap in America?” he added.
Biden does seem to be concerned about some cops, but they don’t live in the United States.
On Tuesday, Biden authorized Secretary of State Antony Blinken to provide up to $10 million worth of weapons, ammunition, bullet-proof vests and helmets intended for our Department of Homeland Security to the Haiti National Police.
“With a coalition of deadly Haitian gangs intensifying their attacks and the deployment of a Kenya-led multinational security force still on hold, the Biden administration is trying to get more weapons, ammunition and protective gear into the hands of Haiti’s beleaguered police… pic.twitter.com/MCbbjSM4J2
— All Source News (@All_Source_News) March 27, 2024
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the assistance is intended to protect Haitian civilians and critical infrastructure against organized crime and gang attacks, according to the Miami Herald.
Given the administration’s lack of interest in preventing cartels and gang violence within our own borders, it reflects the administration’s misplaced priorities.
Earlier this month, in an interview with Michael Goodwin of the New York Post, Trump pledged to rebuild America’s cities and vowed, “If you want to be a sanctuary city, then you’re not getting any federal money.”
The former president talked about the viciousness of the MS-13 gangs and blamed the “radical lunatic left” for the state of our cities.
“The local police are not allowed to do their jobs anymore,” he said, the Post reported.
It’s no wonder when a police officer lost his life in the line of duty — allegedly at the hands of a career criminal who should have been behind bars — they invited the former president.
Trump’s acceptance of the invitation will undoubtedly be spun as a political stunt, but between fighting four criminal cases and a civil case, taking his social media company, Truth Social, public, and running for the highest office in the land, a police wake may not be the most lucrative use of his time.
Instead of spending time fundraising with big-dollar donors, Trump is choosing to spend precious time with New York’s finest.
In contrast, Biden, who will also be in Manhattan on Thursday, will not have a few minutes to pay his respects to the slain police officer on his way to a glitzy, star-studded fundraiser hosted by actress Mindy Kaling, according to CBS.
It all comes down to priorities.