A woman whose father died of the coronavirus spoke at the Democratic National Convention Monday night about her father’s passing and the failure of President Donald Trump’s leadership.
“My dad, Mark Anthony Urquiza, should be here today, but he isn’t,” said Kristin Urquiza, who wrote a scathing obituary blaming Trump and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey for her father’s death from coronavirus in June.
Urquiza’s obituary went viral, and his daughter received an invitation to speak at the Democratic National Convention soon after it was published.
“He had faith in Donald Trump. He voted for him, listened to him, believed in him and his mouthpieces when they said that coronavirus was under control and going to disappear,” she added.
In May, when the stay-at-home orders were lifted in Arizona, her father decided to visit a karaoke bar with some friends. Within a few weeks, he was put on a ventilator and died “alone” in the hospital after five days in the ICU “with a nurse holding his hand.”
“His only pre-existing condition was trusting Donald Trump, and for that, he paid with his life,” Urquiza said. “I am not alone.”
“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,” she added.
Urquiza closed her speech saying she would vote for former Vice President Joe Biden in her father’s memory.
“One of the last things that my father said to me was that he felt betrayed by the likes of Donald Trump. So when I cast my vote for Joe Biden, I will do it for my dad.”