Donald Trump will attend the wake of slain New York City police officer Jonathan Diller on Thursday. Also on Thursday, Joe Biden will be in New York City attending a star-studded gala fundraiser at Radio City Music Hall. Two former presidents will be in attendance.
Trump is looking for the split-screen imagery of contrasting Biden's merrymaking with Trump's more presidential image as comforter-in-chief. He will also highlight Biden's weak record on crime and punishment.
Diller was shot while approaching an illegally parked car in suburban Massapequa. The bullet penetrated below his vest. His alleged shooter, Guy Rivera, had a long criminal record. Trump declared on social media that he “NEVER should have been let back out on the streets.”
The officer is survived by his wife and one-year-old son.
The NYPD's Sergeants Benevolent Association sent a letter, calling out left-wing Democrats in New York for their "soft on crime" and anti-police policies The SBA said that the far-left politicians weren't welcome at the funeral.
"I’m sure that many elected officials will attend PO Diller’s funeral, shed a few crocodile tears, and prominently seat themselves for a good photo opportunity," SBA President Vincent Vallelong wrote in a letter to union members. "The sad reality is we don’t want them there."
Vallelong continued, "Their presence is more than a distraction. It is a stain on the legacy of a true hero who made the ultimate sacrifice, as well as the scores of dedicated and committed public servants who will carry on his mission despite their constant criticism, cynicism, negativity, and frivolous accusations."
In an interview with the New York Post, the union leader took it a step further and called out City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams by name.
"They detest cops and have no appreciation for what they do," he told the paper. "They should stay home and not pretend they are grieving."
When Williams wrote on X about Diller's death earlier this week, many of the replies contained harsh criticism.
"I like how this post doesn't address the need to get criminals off our streets," one user replied.
Williams, a former City Council member who was elected the city's public advocate in 2019, has previously described himself as a democratic socialist and in 2020 argued that $1 billion in NYPD budget cuts wouldn't go far enough to "defund" the police.
"Despite their admonitions to the contrary, the 'leadership' in the Council has failed city residents, workers, and visitors at every turn," Vallelong wrote. "They are blinded by their own hatred and twisted ideology."
Vallelong was just getting warmed up.
"They would rather see the city burn and countless lives lost rather than correct their legislative mistakes and at least give the city a chance at survival or a resurgence," he wrote.
Arrested with Rivera, who had 21 prior arrests, nine of them for felonies, was another career criminal. Lindy Jones, 41, was convicted of attempted murder in 2002, and despite a pending weapons charge from last year that should have had him back in jail, he was out with Rivera killing a police officer.
Biden is not directly responsible for Officer Diller's murder. But the ideology he subscribes to and that Democrats seek to impose on all of us definitely is.
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