No evidence that Donald Trump paid off mortgage for Jonathan Diller’s home

New York Police Department officer Jonathan Diller died in the line of duty, and social media users claimed his death moved former President Donald Trump to generosity.

"INCREDIBLE: Trump pays off mortgage of killed NYPD officer’s family," read an April 1 Facebook post. Diller was shot and killed March 25 during a traffic stop in Queens, New York. 

(Screenshot from Facebook)

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The comments included a link to a Rumble clip showing a Real America’s Voice report about Diller’s funeral. "Breaking Point" host David Zere said, "Trump gave a donation to Tunnel to Towers, (I) believe he paid off the mortgage for this family through (Tunnel to Towers)."

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation, established after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, provides mortgage-free homes to families of military service members killed in active duty and fallen first-responders with young children.

It released a statement March 28 saying it would pay off the mortgage on Diller’s home in Massapequa Park, Long Island. The statement did not mention Trump.

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Benny Johnson

stated on March 30, 2024 in a video on Facebook

Video shows “New York Governor Kathy Hochul being denied entry into the wake for slain NYPD officer Jonathan Diller.”

"We will honor Officer Diller not only for his sacrifice but for his unwavering resolve to protect the people of New York City by ensuring his family can stay in their home, forever," said Frank Siller, Tunnel to Towers chairman and CEO.

PolitiFact contacted Tunnel to Towers and did not hear back, but a spokesperson for the organization told Greater Long Island Media Group that the foundation had not been in touch with Trump or his team about the mortgage.

Zere also walked back his statements on X posts. Replying to a Tunnel to Towers X post, he said, "I may have been mistaken about Trump donating the money to Tunnel and Towers for the Diller family.  I had several people approach me this was the case. I apologize if I reported misinformation."

He also posted on X, that he had "retracted the story a few hours later....I did not originate this ... i reached out to Tunnels to Towers and apologized. Multiple people reached out to me earlier in the day with the story."

Trump attended Diller's March 28 wake, but we found neither statements from Trump nor news reports that show he paid off the mortgage for Diller’s home. We contacted Trump’s team and did not hear back.

We rate the claim that Trump paid off Diller’s mortgage False.

PolitiFact Contributing Writer Sofia Ahmed contributed to this report.