Former President of the United States Donald Trump attended this Thursday the wake of a New York police officer, shot dead on duty, while the Republican presidential favorite has accused Joe Biden of failing to fight crime.
The funeral of officer Jonathan Diller, 31, who was shot dead during a traffic stop on Monday, took place in the suburb of Massapequa.
Diller, who was married and had a 1-year-old son, was shot as he approached an illegally parked vehicle and was urgently transported to a hospital, where he died.
Trump’s visit comes as Biden was also in New York for a previously scheduled fundraiser with former Democratic presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Trump’s campaign made social media posts contrasting his visit with Biden’s fundraising.
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung, in a post on with its elite and untouchable benefactor celibirdities”.
The White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, stressed this Thursday that the Democratic head of state spoke with the mayor of New York, but said she had no “private communication to share” when asked if Biden I had spoken to the agent’s family.
Speaking aboard the presidential plane, Air Force One, the spokeswoman said that Biden has supported the security forces throughout his career and pointed to Trump’s record.
“Violent crime increased during the previous administration. The Biden-Harris administration did the opposite, taking decisive action from the beginning to fund the police and achieving a historic reduction in crime,” he stressed.
Trump, who was accompanied by some of his top campaign advisers on the visit, shook hands with New York Police Department Commissioner Edward Caban and Nassau County police and officials as he entered the funeral home.
Trump has been critical of crime in heavily Democratic cities, calling for thieves to be shot immediately and defending immunity for police officers from lawsuits for possible misconduct.
The Republican tycoon has also attacked prosecutors, the FBI (federal police) and the Department of Justice, for the criminal cases he faces.
It also defends those arrested for participating in the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol, when a mob of Trump supporters invaded police lines and the Capitol and police officers were attacked and beaten.
Trump’s campaign did not offer further details about his attendance at the funeral or whether he planned to give statements.
“President Trump is touched by the invitation to join the family and colleagues of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller as they grapple with his tragic and senseless death,” Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline said. Leavitt, in a statement.
Parked near the funeral ceremony were two pickup trucks with pro-Trump images and flags with the slogan “Make America Great Again.” [“Engrandecer de Novo a América”, em português].
Trump posted about Diller’s death on his social network, Truth Social, on Tuesday, addressing his feelings to the family.
The Republican also classified the shooter as a criminal and noted that the police revealed that the suspect had numerous previous arrests, highlighting that he “should never have returned to the streets.”
