Longtime Democratic strategist James Carville literally laughed off the idea that President Joe Biden, who was in New York City for a fundraiser at the time, should have taken some time to drop by the funeral of fallen NYPD officer Jonathan Diller.
Carville, who joined fellow guest Geraldo Rivera in a discussion with NewsNation host Chris Cuomo, called the notion “idiotic” and asserted that fundraising schedules should not be disrupted when police officers were killed: “Unfortunately, it happens about 120 times a year.”
WATCH:
Last night Dem strategist James Carville said it would be "idiotic" for Biden to care about Officer Jonathan Diller being murdered and to modify his fundraiser plans because cops are shot all the time: "They're raising money, they got guest lists…" pic.twitter.com/kkYAmuZFDG
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) April 2, 2024
Cuomo began by pointing out the stark comparisons that many had made — namely that while Biden was hobnobbing with former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and shilling for high-dollar donations, former President Donald Trump was speaking at Diller’s funeral just minutes away — and he argued that Biden could have undercut the bad optics by simply making an appearance, however brief.
Carville just laughed.
“James, when you’re done laughing,” Cuomo prompted.
“Well, I think — I think it’s idiotic,” Carville replied. “I’ll tell you why: they have a fundraising schedule, they have Radio City Music Hall, they’re out there raising money, they got guest lists, they got everything done. Unfortunately, it happens about 120 times a year, a police officer was shot.”
“And so you’re really saying he should just unring the entire bell.” Carville then abruptly pivoted to complain about conservatives who had objected to the president’s decision to honor “Transgender Day of Visibility” even though it coincided with Easter Sunday, claiming that people just wanted to always be outraged about something.
“No, James, that was an easy one. It’s a layup,” Cuomo protested, saying that all Biden really had to do was make an appearance at the fallen officer’s funeral. “You stop by, you see the family, you give them some private moments, you get back in the car, you go to the fundraiser. That’s not a stretch.”
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“I profoundly disagree,” Carville pushed back, repeating his initial assessment that the idea was “idiotic.”
“Here’s how you fix it with minimal effort and you make people feel better,” Rivera weighed in then, saying that all Biden really had to do was acknowledge Diller — even if all he did was say a few words about him during the fundraiser.
“It is not uncommon for a peace officer to be killed in the line of duty,” Carville continued to push back, arguing that keeping the fundraising schedule on track was the more pressing of the two issues.