Fact Check: Did Trump say his funeral crowd would be bigger than Ayatollah Khamenei's?
WASHINGTON, DC: Following the massive crowd funeral of Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a US-Israeli airstrike in February, a rumor began circulating on social media platforms claiming that President Donald Trump said that his funeral would be bigger, sparking speculation. Let us fact-check whether Trump said it.
Claim: Donald Trump said his funeral would be bigger than that of Khamenei's
According to a claim that surfaced online, Trump said his funeral would draw a much bigger crowd than that of Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei's. The claim surfaced after Khamenei's days-long funeral procession, which began on July 4, drew large crowds, prominent news media outlets reported.
The claim spread across Facebook and Instagram, garnering hundreds of thousands of views and drawing mockery and criticism. Many users appeared to believe it was real, while a few others questioned its authenticity, prompting a fact-check.
Fact Check: The claim was posted by a satire account
The claim is false, as there are no reports of Trump making such a remark. A Google search for the claim yielded no credible results from prominent news media outlets, which, if true, would not go unreported.
The rumor originated from Andy Borowitz, a longtime satirical writer of The Borowitz Report, which ran in The New Yorker for 25 years.
The rumor was first shared via his Facebook account on July 3, before he published a longer satirical story in The Borowitz Report on July 6 titled, "Trump Says His Funeral Will Draw Much Bigger Crowd Than Ayatollah's."
Social media posts that amplified the rumor used the same image of Trump from Borowitz's original post, further indicating that the rumor originated with Borowitz.
Donald Trump surprised by thousands mourning Ayatollah Khamenei
Speaking to Axios, Trump said he was surprised to see thousands of Iranians mourning Khamenei, whom he claimed was killed in a joint US-Israeli operation on the first day of the conflict.
"I thought people hated Khamenei. Maybe it's fake tears," Trump said after watching footage of mourners grieving during the funeral ceremonies.
He went on to say that with Iran's top leadership gathered in one place for the funeral, Washington could eliminate them all with "one shot."
"But we are not going to do that because then we would have nobody to negotiate with,” he added.
Iran swiftly pushed back against Trump's remarks on X, stating, “People can be killed, but ideals cannot. You killed Ayatollah Khamenei, but in reality, you broke a perfume bottle whose scent spread everywhere.”
