A woman whose father died from COVID-19 blamed President Donald Trump for her father’s death during the Democratic National Convention on Monday night, saying that “His only pre-existing condition was trusting Donald Trump.”
Kristin Urquiza suggested that her dad contracted the disease at an Arizona karaoke bar in May “after the stay-at-home order was lifted.”
“He had faith in Donald Trump,” Urquiza said. “He voted for him, listened to him, believed him and his mouthpieces when they said that coronavirus was under control and going to disappear, that it was OK to end social distancing rules before it was safe, and that if you had no underlying health conditions you’d probably be fine.”
“His only pre-existing condition was trusting Donald Trump — and for that he paid with his life,” Urquiza said.
The remarks were praised by leftists and many journalists while many others detested using the death of a family member to score political points. Urquiza’s remarks also ignored numerous things that the Trump administration did during the pandemic, from trying to send scientists to China just a couple of days after learning about the pandemic to implementing social distancing guidelines and recommending that Americans wear masks to slow the spread of the disease.
WATCH:
"My dad's… only preexisting condition was trusting Donald Trump, and for that he paid with his life," says, Kristin Urquiza, a woman whose 65-year old father died of coronavirus alone in the ICU days after visiting a karaoke bar. #DemConvention https://t.co/iCdKspTqf7 pic.twitter.com/TienBxyy4I
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) August 18, 2020
TRANSCRIPT:
Hi. I’m Kristin Urquiza. I’m one of the many who have lost a loved one to Covid. My dad, Mark Anthony Urquiza, should be here today, but he isn’t. He had faith in Donald Trump. He voted for him, listened to him, believed him and his mouthpieces when they said that coronavirus was under control and going to disappear, that it was OK to end social distancing rules before it was safe, and that if you had no underlying health conditions you’d probably be fine.
So in late May, after the stay-at-home order was lifted in Arizona, my dad went to a karaoke bar with his friends. A few weeks later he was on a ventilator, and after five days he died alone, in the I.C.U., with a nurse holding his hand. My dad was a healthy 65-year-old. His only pre-existing condition was trusting Donald Trump — and for that he paid with his life.
I am not alone. Once I told my story, a lot of people reached out to me to share theirs. They asked me to help keep the community safe, especially communities of color, which have been disproportionately affected. They asked me, a normal person, to help, because Donald Trump won’t.
The coronavirus has made it clear that there are two Americas: The America that Donald Trump lives in and the America that my father died in. Enough is enough. Donald Trump may not have caused the coronavirus, but his dishonesty and his irresponsible actions made it so much worse.
We need a leader who has a national, coordinated, data-driven response to stop the pandemic from claiming more lives and safely reopen the country. We need a leader who will step in on day one and do his job: to care.
One of the last things that my father said to me was that he felt betrayed by the likes of Donald Trump. And so when I cast my vote for Joe Biden, I will do it for my dad.