Trump Shares Debunked Claim About NY Governor Hochul Being ‘Asked to Leave’ Slain NYPD Officer’s Wake

Donald Trump posted a fraudulent claim on social media that has already been extensively refuted. On his Truth Social handle, the former president reposted a video allegedly showing New York Governor Kathy Hochul being turned away from a slain NYPD police officer's wake last week, as per Mediaite.

Trump had reposted the video from right-wing radio personality, Steve Gruber's post, which stated, “NY Gov. Kathy Hochul was asked to leave the wake of fallen NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller just minutes after arriving on Friday afternoon. Several cops waiting outside the funeral home then clapped as she walked away.”

While Joe Biden hosted his star-studded fundraiser in New York, Trump paid campaign-style remarks at the wake of fallen NYPD Officer, Jonathan Diller.

Trump's attendance at the wake caused a partisan rift in the nation's media, with supporters praising him for standing with the police and detractors accusing him of taking advantage of the terrible loss of a police officer to further his political career.

Diller, 31, and another officer had pulled over an improperly parked automobile last week in Far Rockaway, Queens when the driver of the vehicle fired his gun at the two cops. Diller was hit in the torso during the gunfight and succumbed to his injuries while the accused, also shot, remains admitted in a hospital, as reported by CBS News. Guy Rivera, 34, the shooter, is accused of first-degree murder, attempted murder, and unlawful possession of a firearm.

As Trump used the sad incident to take a right-wing dig at Governor Hochul, netizens slammed him for his insensitivity. In response to these accusations, Hochul verified to POLITICO on Saturday that she had been granted permission to attend Diller's family's wake.“We always ask: ‘Would the families like us there?’ If the families say, ‘No, this is the time for our personal family grieving, we don’t want a politician there,’ we don’t go,” she said. “In this case, we asked. We were told the family was welcoming. We always check, and they said to come, and I went. And no one told me to leave,” the New York Democrat added.

Gruber obtained the video footage from Fox News, which also uploaded it on X, along with the caption, “TIME TO GO: Crowd claps as New York Gov. Kathy Hochul leaves slain NYPD officer’s wake just minutes after arriving. The incident comes a day after a police union president called on anti-police politicians to stay away from the wake and funeral.”

The video footage shows a man—later revealed to be Diller's uncle—furiously berating Hochul. Addressing the critique, Hochul said, “People will do what they’re going to do for their own reasons, and I will remain convinced that it was the right thing to do. I would do it again, and that’s my job. My job is to be there when people need me. If they need to talk to me, and they all needed to talk to me, my job is to listen.”