Monday on CNN, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer blamed President Donald Trump for losing his mother, Arlene Stringer-Cuevas, as a result of complications from contracting the coronavirus.
Stringer said, “For this tragedy to happen is just so overwhelmingly sad for my family, but it’s a story, Anderson, that I know is playing out across the country, it’s playing out in New York City, it’s so hurtful. She’s got a great story to tell and going to tell it for the rest of my life.”
He continued, “If you said to me, what would it ultimately have my mother fall, I never thought it would be some virus, and it’s hard to get around that. In New York City, this is playing out in so many families, and I’ve got to tell you, Donald Trump has blood on his hands, and he has my mom’s blood on his hands, and he sent us a hospital that’s right here in the Manhattan harbor, and no one can get on that hospital. This is something that is just outrageous, and so it’s very tough to mourn under these circumstances.”
Host Anderson Cooper asked, “You’re angry about that?”
Stringer said, “I think we all are. The government is supposed to protect our people, and we’re supposed to be able to protect our parents and grandparents the way they protected us, and we’re not able to do that, and perhaps the thing I struggle with the most is how do you mourn at a time when you can’t connect with people? There can’t be a funeral. There can’t be a traditional shiva. There’s no way to reach out to my stepfather and see him personally because he’s quarantined. My little kids can’t say goodbye to their grandma. There is something wrong playing out here.”
He added, “When you see someone who passed away because of this evil virus, text someone, call someone because that’s the only way you have closure, is by people who are strangers saying goodbye to your mom and helping you grieve and that is so critical to the families.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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