Earlier this week in New York City, Officer Jonathan Diller was gunned down during a traffic stop. The 31-year-old officer leaves behind a wife and 1-year-old son.
Diller’s wake was held yesterday on Long Island, and Donald Trump thought it’d be a good idea to attend. The New York Times reported:
Afterward, as rain poured down outside, Mr. Trump said the officer’s death was a horrible tragedy and, as he often does on the campaign trail, broadly called for a crackdown on violent crime without mentioning specific policies. “The only thing we can say is maybe something is going to be learned,” Mr. Trump said. “We’ve got to toughen it up. We’ve got to strengthen it up.”
The report added that before the former president spoke to reporters, “a line of police officers, some uniformed and some in tactical gear, were deliberately posed behind him.”
It was a familiar sight: “The former president often takes pictures with the police who accompany his motorcade on the campaign trail, and his aides regularly share videos of the interactions on social media to highlight the officers’ support.”
None of this is especially subtle. The presumptive Republican nominee wants to be seen as “tough on crime” and a “strong” ally of law enforcement. His partisan allies are eager to feed the narrative: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, a Trump acolyte, declared via social media yesterday, “No one Backs The Blue more than President Trump.”
As a matter of election-year politics, the message makes sense. As a matter of reality, this is demonstrably ridiculous.
For now, let’s not dwell on the irony of seeing a man currently facing dozens of criminal counts push a “tough on crime” message, though it’s likely Trump was the only accused felon at yesterday’s wake.
Let’s instead consider the Republican’s record.
While in the White House, Trump repeatedly lashed out at those he described as “dirty cops,” as part of a larger offensive against federal law enforcement.
Trump also attacked law enforcement with conspiracy theories, condemned common law-enforcement tools, undermined the judicial system by abusing his pardon powers, and urged law enforcement to enforce his political vendettas and help Republicans win elections. Indeed, the then-president made it painfully clear during his tenure that he saw law enforcement as a political weapon he can wield at his convenience.
After his 2020 defeat, Trump’s posture toward law enforcement managed to get worse, as he condemned law enforcement “fascists” and equated the FBI with “the Gestapo.”
Perhaps most notable of all is Trump and Jan. 6. The former president hasn’t just promised day-one pardons for insurrectionists, many of whom violently clashed with police officers, he’s also facing civil suits from officers who sustained injuries during the riot the Republican instigated.
As recently as November, Trump also appeared to express support for prosecuting members of the Capitol police. Months earlier, the presumptive GOP nominee also lashed out at the officer who shot Ashli Babbitt as a “thug” and a “coward” who deserves to be vilified.
To see Donald Trump as some kind of ally to law enforcement is to look past everything we know about Donald Trump.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.
