President Joe Biden recently hosted the family of George Floyd at the White House while continuing to snub families of America’s slain police officers.
As Biden rolled out the red carpet for the Floyd family to honor a man who had been arrested nine times for various drug possession and armed robberies, the message was clear: The criminal element is welcomed at this White House.
America’s police officers killed on the streets in cold blood? Not so much.
With the passage of Memorial Day, traditionally a time to honor our fallen soldiers in war, one cannot ignore that there is a war also happening here on our soil for the heart and soul of America. The war looks different that traditional wars of the past, but make no mistake: our police officers are the frontline soldiers fighting to protect America.
Even though a record number of police officers have been killed in cold blood in the line of duty, thus far in his administration Biden has failed to invite the families of slain frontline police officers to the White House.
He would have had ample opportunities to do so.
In just the first five months of 2021, nearly as many officers have been murdered in the line of duty as were murdered in the entirety of 2020.
At least 38 frontline law enforcement officers have been slain in the line of duty so far this year — shot while sitting in their squad cars, ambushed while on the job, and killed during not-so-routine traffic stops. At the pace it is going, there will likely be twice as many murdered cops by the end of 2021.
In addition, nearly twice as many officers have died in “line of duty deaths” from other incidents, including contracting COVID-19 on the job. In the early days of the pandemic America’s first responders heroically stayed on duty to help their fellow man, and it ended up costing them their lives.
Yet none of the surviving family members of America’s slain police officers have been hosted at the White House, as George Floyd’s family was. There was no ticker tape parade for them as promised by a top mayor. No White House red carpet for officers’ families, no press conference, and no special treats for their children of fallen officers as there was for George Floyd’s daughter, Gianna. (President Biden admitted he fed her Cheetos, ice cream and chocolate milk.)
No, there was no conversation with the slain officers’ families about “the future of policing in America” as there was with the Floyd family. The silence is deafening and sends a disturbing message that police officers’ service and sacrifice in giving their lives to our country doesn’t matter.
Sadly, the higher death rate of America’s police officers this year isn’t the only toll.
In addition to the spike in murdered police officers, more than 58,000 other officers are attacked, assaulted, stabbed and shot in the line of duty each year according to FBI crime statistics. That equates to a “walking wounded” community of police officers who have also been snubbed by the Biden administration.
Leave it to the feckless Biden to add insult to injury.
In May, Biden also slammed America’s law enforcement officers during National Police Week — an annual commemoration honoring police duty which concludes with a special Peace Officers Memorial Day.
Rather than lift up America’s police who are facing their deadliest year on record, Biden used the opportunity to stomp on their graves. He wrote in his presidential proclamation for the occasion, “there is a deep sense of distrust towards law enforcement; a distrust that has been exacerbated by the recent deaths of several black and brown people at the hands of law enforcement. These deaths have resulted in a profound fear, trauma, pain and exhaustion for many black and brown Americans, and the resulting breakdown in trust between law enforcement and the communities they have sworn to protect and serve.”
Biden’s shameless hijacking of Memorial Day to attack American police officers, along with his continued anti-police sentiment, is blatant, callous and unbecoming of a sitting president. It is also pretty rich for a man who has enjoyed armed protection as a vice president, president, and U.S. senator for the last 40 years, courtesy of the American taxpayer.
The one glimmer of hope for America’s police is the fact that “The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act” continues to flounder in Congress, as members realize that the proposal is too radical for their communities back home.
While Biden continues to pander to “black and brown” communities, the fact is that a majority of Black Americans — 61% — want police to maintain their presence in their communities and a surprising 20% of Black Americans wish police would actually spend more time in their communities, according to a Gallup Poll.
The public sentiment flies in the face of Biden’s outrageous rhetoric, and at a minimum it shows appreciation from minority communities to surviving family members of slain police officers that their ultimate sacrifices to this country are, in fact, appreciated.
Jennifer Kerns is host of the new nationally-syndicated show, ''All-American Radio with Jennifer Kerns.'' Read Jennifer Kerns' Reports Here.