Nick Cordero's widow calls Donald Trump's COVID-19 comments 'disgraceful'

When U.S. President Donald Trump told people on Monday "Don't be afraid of Covid. Don't let it dominate your life," Amanda Kloots couldn't stay silent — his message came exactly three months since her husband, Hamilton raised Broadway star Nick Cordero, died after a grueling 95-day fight with the virus.

"Unfortunately it did dominate our lives didn't it? It dominated Nick's family's lives and my family's lives. I guess we 'let it' — like it was our choice??" she said on Instagram.

"Not everyone is lucky enough to spend two days in the hospital. 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."

Trump's comments came after he was hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he received treatment for the virus.

His comments sparked controversy among pandemic survivors and victims' families.

Cordero, a 41-year-old Tony-nominated actor, died on July 5.

Before his death, he was in the intensive care unit at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where he was placed on a ventilator and into a medically induced coma. 

Doctors also amputated part of his right leg after blood clotting issues arose during his treatment.

Kloots also posted a video on her Instagram story (which last for 24 hours).

In the social media posts, shared by CNN, she asks Trump to "have some empathy."

She then appeared on CNN to speak about Trump's comments, describing them as a "dagger to the heart."

"It broke my heart, it was like a gut punch, bringing back everything we went through," she told CNN's Chris Cuomo, through tears.

"He had a chance yesterday to come out and be a true leader, and a chance to show empathy to his country ... and he didn't ... even if Nick could have survived, the complications COVID had on his body, he would have dealt with for the rest of his life."

Cordero specialized in playing tough guys on Broadway in such shows as Waitress, A Bronx Tale and Bullets Over Broadway. He also attended Toronto's Ryerson University for acting.

He was survived by Kloots, and their son, Elvis.

White House nearly deserted because of COVID-19 outbreak

4 years ago

Duration 2:46

U.S. President Donald Trump is back at the White House, but many staff stayed away as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to increase, something doctors blame on the reliance on testing instead of behavioural changes.

As of Wednesday, the White House has become a hot spot for COVID-19, with offices emptying out while the 74-year-old Trump continues his recovery and is cared for around the clock by a team of doctors and nurses.