Woman who lost father to virus: 'His only preexisting condition was trusting Donald Trump'

Kristin Urquiza gave a powerful speech at the Democratic National Convention on Monday night, in which she placed blame on her father’s death from COVID-19 on Donald Trump and other politicians who did not take the virus seriously.

“I’m one of the many who has lost a loved one to COVID. My dad, Mark Anthony, 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,” said Urquiza, whose father died on June 30 from the coronavirus. Her obituary for her father subsequently went viral.

“My dad was a healthy 65-year-old,” Urquiza said Monday night. “His only preexisting condition was trusting Donald Trump, and for that he paid with his life.”

She went on to say that while Trump “may not have caused the coronavirus,” his “dishonesty and his irresponsible actions made it so much worse.”

“One of the last things that my father said to me was that he felt betrayed by the likes of Donald Trump,” she said. “And so, when I cast my vote for Joe Biden, I will do it for my dad.”

Trump has repeatedly downplayed the coronavirus, falsely saying that it would “miraculously” disappear, and wasting more than two months at the start of the coronavirus outbreak before taking any measurable steps to stop it.

The failure to take significant action as the pandemic was spreading led to a massive outbreak in the United States. And Trump’s demands that states reopen before public health experts said it was safe helped create even more outbreaks.

To date, more than 5.4 million people have been infected by the coronavirus in the United States, and more than 170,000 have died.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.