Trump was invited to NYPD wake
Officers line up to pay their respects at the wake for fallen NYPD Officer Jonathan E. Diller on March 28 in Massapequa Park. Credit: Howard Schnapp
Many of the letters published regarding former President Donald Trump’s visit to NYPD officer Jonathan E. Diller’s wake were critical of Trump’s attendance [“Concerns about the NYPD wake,” Opinion, April 2]. None noted that Trump was invited by the Diller family, who were thankful. I saw a compassionate ex-president extend his condolences to a grieving family.
Some readers criticized Trump for his alleged failure to control the riotous mob that stormed the Capitol on
Jan. 6, 2021. Did some imply that Trump was responsible for the deaths of U.S. Capitol Police officers days or months after the riot?
The only person killed that day was an unarmed Ashli Babbitt, shot by a Capitol Police lieutenant. The officer was never held accountable for it.
Unlike President Joe Biden who did not directly convey his condolences to Diller’s family, Trump took time from his busy campaign to accept the Dillers’ invitation.
— James H. Wood, North Babylon
Several readers seemed to blame Donald Trump for the injuries and deaths of police officers who were at the Capitol Jan. 6.
Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick worked that day, went home and died the following day. The medical examiner classified his death from natural causes after he suffered strokes, with no internal or external injuries.
People can dislike Trump for their own reasons, but he had nothing to do directly with the death of any police officer there.
He has always been respectful of law enforcement and first responders and goes out of his way to reach out and thank them at various venues.
I am sorry for Sicknick’s family, but his death was used to imply that some officers died on Jan. 6, blaming Trump.
— John Russell, Sayville
The writer is a retired NYPD detective sergeant.
The letters went both ways. Some praised Donald Trump and some said it was nothing but a photo op.
Why did he not visit those injured Jan. 6 or families of other police officers killed in the line of duty? The big difference is that Trump was invited by Jonathan E. Diller’s family.
It’s funny how the readers who criticized Trump never mentioned Joe Biden opting to attend an expensive gala that night. Who was the better person here?
— Susanna Kurz, Jericho
Donald Trump was invited to Jonathan E. Diller’s wake. Meanwhile, Joe Biden and former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton prepared to party at a fundraiser mere miles away. That is where the disgrace lies.
Biden’s efforts to reach the family apparently involved only a message shared with Mayor Eric Adams.
— Dain Huber, West Islip
It’s not surprising that the critics of Donald Trump had nothing — not one word — to say about our current president, Joe Biden, not taking time out from his busy fundraising schedule to attend Jonathan E. Diller’s wake or funeral.
Was Diller’s name even mentioned at the money-raising event attended by all the rich New York elites?
— Joe Cesare, Copiague
Why did Donald Trump attend the NYPD wake and not a wake for the Capitol police officers? The difference is that the Capitol police were not killed by anyone.
Jonathan E. Diller was allegedly fatally shot by a felon who had an extensive arrest record. That’s a big difference, and to print those letters seems misleading to me.
— Teresa Pescitelli, Shoreham
A reader asked about Donald Trump not paying his respects to the officers who died and were wounded as result of the attack on the Capitol.
The media initially reported that Brian Sicknick was killed after being struck by a fire extinguisher. That was not true.
The only person killed in the Capitol on Jan. 6 was Ashli Babbitt, a female military veteran. She was demonstrating and, perhaps at worst, trespassing, and that did not warrant the death penalty.
— Debbie Gerrie, Hauppauge
Widow’s remarks on crime were pointed
Newsday did not include a key component in its story “Final farewell to slain NYPD cop” [News, March 31].
Missing were the remarks on crime by Stephanie Diller, the widow of Jonathan E. Diller, in her eulogy for her husband at his funeral Saturday at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Massapequa.
She criticized elected officials for being soft on crime in New York City, saying, “How many more police officers and their families will have to make the ultimate sacrifice before we start protecting them?”
— Frank Bailey, Middle Island
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