A top New York City official launched a ruthless attack on President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic days after his mother died of the disease.
NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer, whose mother Arlene Stringer-Cuevas passed away aged 86 as a result of complications from COVID-19 on Friday, spoke with CNN’s Anderson Cooper about the devastating loss on Monday.
Stringer became emotional as he spoke about how many other families are dealing with the same grief.
‘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. He has my mom’s blood on his hands,’ he said.
NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer (left) launched a ruthless attack on President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic during a CNN interview on Monday, days after his mother, Arlene Stringer-Cuevas (right), died from the disease
‘He sent us a hospital that’s right here in the Manhattan harbor and no one can get on that hospital,’ Stringer added, referring to the USNS Comfort, which has only taken on a few patients since it docked at Pier 90 in New York City last week.
‘This is something that is just outrageous, and so it’s very tough to mourn under these circumstances.’
‘Donald Trump has blood on his hands. He has my mom’s blood on his hands,’ Stringer said of the president (pictured Monday)
‘You’re angry about that,’ Cooper asked.
‘I think we all are,’ Stringer replied.
‘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.
‘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.’
He then pleaded with viewers to reach out to anyone they know who has lost a loved one to ‘this evil virus’.
‘Text someone, call someone, because that’s the only way you have closure, is by people who are strangers saying good-bye to your mom and helping you grieve and that is so critical to the families,’ he said.
Asked by CNN host Anderson Cooper if he’s angry about Trump’s handling of the pandemic, Stringer said: ‘I think we all are. The government is supposed to protect our people’
Stringer criticized how the USNS Comfort (pictured) has been used, as reports suggest the ship with capacity for more than 1,000 patients has only received a few dozen so far
Stringer first spoke publicly about his mother’s death on Twitter Friday, calling the loss ‘incalculable’.
He praised how she raised him and his brother as a single mother while also working as a public school teacher before she became a New York City councilwoman.
Speaking to CNN three days later, he said: ‘She’s got a great story to tell and going to tell it for the rest of my life.
‘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.’
Stringer announced his mother’s death aged 86 in a tweet (pictured) on Friday
Arlene Stringer-Cuevas (right) died as a result of complications from COVID-19 on Friday
Stringer praised how his mom raised him and his brother as a single mother while also working as a public school teacher before she became a New York City councilwoman
New York City is currently the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States, with nearly 65,000 confirmed cases and at least 2,472 deaths as of Monday evening.
Officials have taken drastic steps to address the city’s crisis, including by setting up field hospitals in Central Park and converting the Javits Center into an emergency facility.
Under immense pressure from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and other local leaders, President Trump has directed some federal supplies and funding to the state and sent the USNS Comfort to the Big Apple to help free up beds in traditional hospitals.
Stringer criticized how the Comfort has been used as reports suggest the ship with capacity for more than 1,000 patients has only received a few dozen so far.
The ship was intended to be used for non-coronavirus patients only, but over the weekend a handful of infected people – less than five – were accidentally transferred there.
New York City is currently the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States, with nearly 65,000 confirmed cases and at least 2,472 deaths as of Monday evening
Nationwide more than 347,500 cases and 10,358 deaths have been reported as of Monday
