The murdered NYPD officer Jonathan Diller and the American widow who was recently released from a Russian prison are one of the “everyday American heroes” that President Trump praised during his speech in a joint Congress session on Tuesday night, the Post learned.
Stephanie Diller and Mark Vogel will also be joined by the family of Pennsylvania firefighter Corey Comperatore.
“We will never forget their stories,” a White House official told the Post.
Trump, 78, attended the Long Island Wake of Diller, a married father who was shot dead during a regular traffic stop on March 25, 2024 at Queens' distant Rockaway.
Diller, 31, approached the suspiciously-looking vehicle and ordered two men identified as Rivera and Guy Rivera to be shot and killed by Rivera, awaiting trial on murder and other charges.
Trump spent 40 minutes at Wake, where he spoke to Stephanie and met the couple's one-year-old son, Ryan.
“I said, 'something has to come out of there.' And the only thing we can think we can come out of it is that this isn't happening because we're getting stronger and tougher,” Trump told the post in a conversation with the Diller family.
“This isn't just New York,” he added. “I saw police officers from other states. I saw them. [officers from] Texas, I saw Ohio. So this captured a moment, and I think we captured it in terms of having to do harsh things about crime, we have to be tough on criminals. ”
In her follow-up, which was delivered on March 30, 2024, Stephanie Diller asked:
Facebook/Helen Comperatore
Trump has also repeatedly praised the Comperatore. The fire jackets at the Republican National Convention, the second Butler Rally in October 2024, and the inauguration parade in January are on display.
The president praised the volunteer fire chief for placing his life to make his life a “shield” for his family when gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks fired fire at the crowd of Larry.
Fogel returned to the US earlier this month after being detained in Russian prisons for the past three and a half years.
In 2022, Vogel was sentenced to serve in a Russian labor camp for 14 years, claiming that physical efforts forced him to “more than 100 days” into a prison hospital.
Trump was able to negotiate with Russia for Vogel's release and fulfilled his promise to his 95-year-old mother, Malfin.
“He has a great mother,” Trump said of Malfin Vogel. He will be at the House Gallery after greeting Mark Vogel at the White House on Tuesday night.
“And when I saw his mother at the meeting, she said, 'If you win, will you drive my son out?” And I promised – she would be 95 years old. And we let him out pretty quickly. ”
“I have a big problem with his mom and I had to bring him home.”
