Democratic National Convention: Urquiza blames dad’s death on US politicians

One of the last things Mark Anthony told his daughter before the coronavirus killed him was that he felt “betrayed” by Donald Trump.

A woman who lost her father to coronavirus has delivered a fierce rebuke to the US President during the Democratic National Convention.

In a powerful moment, the convention heard from Kristin Urquiza, whose father Mark Anthony Urquiza, a supporter of President Donald Trump, died from the coronavirus in June.

Ms Urquiza’s blistering obituary for her dad, in which she blamed his death on “the carelessness of politicians”, went viral last month. In a video message speech to the convention, she said Mark Anthony had been “betrayed” by Mr Trump.

“I’m one of many who has 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. 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 put on a ventilator, and after five agonising days, he died alone in the ICU, with a nurse holding his hand.

“My dad was a health 65-year-old. His only pre-existing condition was trusting Donald Trump, and for that, he paid with his life.

RELATED: Follow our live coverage of the convention as Michelle Obama and Bernie Sanders speak

Kristen Urquiza lost her father Mark to coronavirus.

No family should go through the pain that Kristin and her family have gone through. #DemConvention pic.twitter.com/LgyabNxxFy

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) August 18, 2020

Before contracting the virus, Mr Urquiza had rarely been leaving the house except for work, his daughter said during her speech last month. But when the Arizona Governor began encouraging people to go out, she said, he told her: “Why would he do that if it were still dangerous?”

She said despite her best efforts to keep them safe, she couldn’t compete with the Governor’s office and the Trump administration.

“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 them keep their communities safe, especially communities of colour, 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 will step in on day one and do his job. To care.

“One of the last thing my father said to me is 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.”

The convention’s moderator, Eva Longoria, said the nation grieved for Ms Urquiza’s father and “all those we have lost to this virus”.

Kristen Urquiza said her father’s only pre-existing condition was that he supported Donald Trump.

Ms Urquiza said she wrote to the Governor of Arizona, Doug Ducey, asking him to attend her father’s funeral. She’d been inspired by the AIDS Quilt — a national project founded in 1985 to humanise people killed by AIDS. She said she wanted him to see the outcome of his alleged “inaction and active denial” of the coronavirus on the people of the state.

She said she never received a response from Mr Ducey’s office, and a spokesman from his office declined to say whether they received the letter, according to Pressdemocrat.com.

About three weeks after Arizona had suspended its coronavirus restrictions, Mr Urquiza developed a cough and was running a high fever — his daughter arranged for him to have a test — but he never received a result.

His condition deteriorated and he was hospitalised on June 16. Once in the hospital Mr Urquiza was tested again, where he tested positive.

Once in the hospital, it was difficult for his Ms Urquiza to receive information about her father — she said the nurses and doctors were struggling with a surge of patients.

Her father was admitted to ICU, but he died four days later on June 30.

She said the coronavirus crisis in the US is the result of a failure by politicians to lead, and a downplaying of the advice from health experts.

Ms Urquiza has founded a social media campaign ‘Marked By COVID’ to spread information about people affected by the deadly disease.

This was the last picture my dad sent to me before he passed. I miss him every day. He should be here today. I launched @MarkedByCovid I his memory to help people share their stories and hold politicians accountable. Join us. pic.twitter.com/eT4Iz8OlV4

— Kristin Urquiza, MPA (she/her) (@kdurquiza) August 18, 2020

The Democratic National Convention is a four-day political extravaganza, with all the Democratic Party’s bigwigs coming together to talk about how great they think Mr Biden is, and how awful they think Mr Trump is.

It’s the biggest chance Mr Biden will get, outside of the presidential debates, to convince voters they should support him in November’s election.

This year’s convention is a little unusual, and you can blame the coronavirus pandemic for that. Instead of taking the same stage in front of a packed arena, all of the speakers are going to be appearing remotely, with no crowd in front of them. The most important stuff is being televised during a condensed two-hour period, from 11am-1pm AEST.

The two headline acts today are former first lady Michelle Obama – who delivered a barn burner of a speech at the Democratic convention four years ago – and Senator Bernie Sanders, who was the most formidable of Mr Biden’s vanquished rivals for the nomination.