I predicted that Donald Trump would win the 2016 election, one of only two semi-prominent pundits, along with Michael Moore, to get that one right. I picked Trump to win again in 2020; one out of two isn’t bad. And I am picking him again in 2024.
Trump has horrible liabilities as a presidential candidate. Close to half the country wouldn’t consider voting for him, he is dodging jail as he tries to campaign, and so far the Democrats have twice as much cash on hand as the Republicans. How can such a candidate possibly win? The short answer is that he is running against Joe Biden. But let’s elaborate on that.
The difference between Trump and Biden was on display this week in New York. A career criminal who never should have been on the streets murdered NYPD officer Jonathan Diller in the course of a routine traffic stop. The murderer, Guy Rivera, was illegally parked. He also tried to kill Diller’s partner, but his gun jammed. Upon arrest, he was found to have a “shiv,” which I take it is a kind of knife, in his rectum, apparently in anticipation of returning to prison.
New York has seen a tremendous outpouring of support for Jonathan Diller’s 29-year-old widow, Stephanie, and their one year old son, Ryan. For whatever reason, the case seems to have aroused an extraordinary amount of public emotion. There was a wake for Officer Diller on Friday; Donald Trump attended and was welcomed with open arms. Joe Biden wasn’t there. Instead, he was raising $25 million in a big-buck appearance with Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Even Bill Kristol, who I take it is now a Democrat, could see that this didn’t look good:
An unfortunate day politically for the Democrats.
Biden does a fancy NYC fundraiser in the midst of chaotic left-wing street protests–looks like limousine liberalism plus the breakdown of law and order.
And Trump attends the wake of a slain NYPD police officer on Long Island.
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) March 29, 2024
Yes, it was a bad look, to put it mildly. But is wasn’t just a blunder by Biden’s advance team. The reality is that, since Jonathan Diller’s killer was black, the Democratic Party must remain neutral lest they offend their BLM base. “White supremacy” and all that. The Democrats can’t afford to be anti-crime or pro-law enforcement.
New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul briefly attended Diller’s wake on Friday. Accounts vary, but it seems that she was confronted by a relative of Diller who said that the officer’s blood is on her hands, because of New York’s absurdly liberal bail laws. The crowd applauded when she left.
Diller’s funeral was held today in the same Catholic church on Long Island where he and Stephanie were married a few years ago. Again, the outpouring of sympathy has been extraordinary. Stephanie spoke, and while almost all of her talk was devoted to eulogizing her husband, she also asked when politicians would finally step up and defend law enforcement. Donald Trump sent flowers. Joe Biden, needless to say, did not. At one point, Diller’s young son was photographed reaching toward his father’s casket:
The fact is that everyone knows if you are opposed to crime, if you are afraid of being a victim of crime, if you want an orderly society rather than a degenerate one, you should vote Republican. Democrats are the party of rich liberals who never encounter the career criminals, released onto the streets time after time, who make life miserable for many millions of Americans. Voters know that.
And voters know that Joe Biden–or the poor, pathetic shell of Joe Biden who is now running for president–can’t even pretend to be on their side, when it comes to public safety. Whereas Donald Trump, rich though he may be, understands their desire for peace and order, and will do what he can to bring it about.
There are other issues, to be sure, starting with illegal immigration and Bidenflation. But I think this is an important reason why Donald Trump will win another term in the White House.
