Former President Donald Trump called for 'law and order' after attending the remembrance ceremony of a police officer killed on duty in New York City.
Trump on Thursday afternoon visited family members of Officer Jonathan Diller, 31, who was shot dead at a traffic stop in Far Rockaway, Queens, three days earlier.
‘The police are the greatest people we have. There’s nothing and there’s nobody like them. And this should never happen,’ said Trump at the visitation at the Massapequa Funeral Home in Long Island.
‘We have to get back to law and order.
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‘We have to do a lot of things differently. This is not working. This is happening too often.’
Trump, holding an umbrella on the rainy day, added that Diller’s killing was ‘such a sad, sad event’ and ‘such a horrible thing’.
He mentioned Diller’s wife and their one-year-old son who ‘doesn’t know how his life has been changed’.
‘We’ve got to toughen it up,’ concluded Trump.
Diller is the first New York City cop to die in the line of duty in two years.
While handling a routine traffic stop, Diller approached the vehicle of suspect Guy Rivera for parking illegally in front of a bus stop. Rivera allegedly shot Diller in the stomach below his bulletproof vest.
Diller’s partner opened fire on Rivera and struck him. Rivera was found to have 21 previous arrests.
The married father was transported to Jamaica Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who accompanied Trump, said the ex-president’s visit was ‘a tremendous comfort to the family’ of Diller.
‘People were very, very, they were very blessed to have someone like President Trump, who cared so much, spent a lot of time with the family,’ said Blakeman, a Republican.
‘Brian, we are going to help raise, because he’s only one years old. He’s going to grow up without a dad, but he’s going to have thousands of dads that will look after him.’
Trump visited New York the same day that President Joe Biden, joined by former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, headed to Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan for a fundraiser that netted a record $25million for Biden’s re-election campaign.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Thursday said that Biden had spoken to the mayor about Diller’s killing but did not have information to share about any conversations he may have had with the family.
The Trump campaign highlighted the contrast in the New York visits.
'President Trump will be commemorating the memory of Officer Diller and showing respect to his family, friends, and the NYPD,' wrote Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said X (Twitter).
'Meanwhile, the Three Stooges – Biden, Obama, and Clinton – will be at a fancy fundraiser in the city with their wealthy, disconnected celebrity supporters.'
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