Nick Cordero’s Widow Amanda Kloots Slams Trump For Tweeting ‘Don’t Be Afraid of Covid’
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Amanda Kloots, widow of Broadway star Nick Cordero who died from the coronavirus earlier this year, is speaking out against President Donald Trump for downplaying the virus after contracting it himself.
On Monday, in a tweet announcing he was being released from the hospital and returning to the White House, Trump told his followers, “Feeling really good! Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life.” He added, “We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge. I feel better than I did 20 years ago!”
I will be leaving the great Walter Reed Medical Center today at 6:30 P.M. Feeling really good! Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge. I feel better than I did 20 years ago!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 5, 2020
Taking to her Instagram stories, Kloots posted an emotional video, which came three months to the day of her husband’s untimely death. “Don’t let it dominate your life?” she asked. “No one’s letting it. Nick didn’t let it. It wasn’t a choice. It dominated his life. It dominated my life. It dominated our family’s lives for 95 days and because he didn’t make it, it will forever effect my life.”
Kloots went on to call Trump’s tweet “beyond hurtful,” adding, “Have some empathy to the people who are suffering and grieving. It’s just not fair.” She continued, “To act like this disease is nothing and you got right over it, I’m so happy that you did. Thank God you did, but guess what? There are a lot of people that didn’t.”
Amanda Kloots’ husband died of Covid at age 41.
pic.twitter.com/GQjB08I4TG— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) October 6, 2020
Kloots went on to suggest that “instead of bragging” about beating Covid, Trump should instead “side” with other Americans who’ve suffered. “That’s the tweet you send. You send a tweet saying, ‘I got out of the hospital today at 6:30pm… because I got out in two days, I have a small idea of what this disease is like and I am so sorry to the people who lost their lives to it and I will now do everything I possibly can to help them.’”
Cordero died in July at the age of 41 after a months-long battle with Covid, leaving behind Kloots and their one-year-old son. The Broadway star had his leg amputated during his extended hospital stay and eventually succumbed to the virus. Kloots chronicled the painful journey on social media.
Also on Monday night, Kloots posted a similar sentiment on her Instagram page, writing, “I cried next to my husband for 95 days watching what COVID did to the person I love. It IS something to be afraid of. After you see the person you love the most die from this disease you would never say what this tweet says. There is no empathy to all the lives lost. He is bragging instead. It is sad. It is hurtful. It is disgraceful.”
