On Monday, former President Donald Trump dropped a clip to his Truth Social platform claiming to show NY Governor Kathy Hochul (D) after being denied entry to a wake for a slain police officer last week.
Trump dropped a post from right-wing radio host Steve Gruber, who wrote, “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.”
Trump has attended the wake of slain NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller last week and offered campaign-style remarks before leaving the event. Trump’s appearance sharply divided partisan media in the country as Trump was praised by allies for supporting the police, while slammed by critics for exploiting the tragic death of a police officer for his campaign.
Trump continued to play politics on the topic Monday by sharing the post from Gruber, furthering a rumor on the right that Hochul was not welcome at the wake.
Hochul addressed those rumors on Saturday, telling Politico she had indeed cleared her attendance at the wake with Diller’s family. “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 is welcoming. We always check, and they said to come, and I went. And no one told me to leave,” added the New York Democrat, who has made it a goal to reverse the bail reform laws many have blamed for Diller’s death.
The clip Gruber shared was sourced from Fox News, which also posted it to X, writing, “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.”
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. https://t.co/PSzkleUrTJ pic.twitter.com/z61Mn1GhW0
— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 1, 2024
