A new allegation that Donald Trump has “blood on his hands” has emerged, and this time it’s personal. New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer (D), whose claims to fame include spending $2 million of taxpayer money to perform vasectomies on deer in Staten Island, told CNN host Anderson Cooper that the president has his “mom’s blood on his hands.”
Last week, Stringer’s 86-year-old mother succumbed to a COVID-19 infection, and Stringer holds Trump accountable.
There is no question that these are difficult and unprecedented times. In the video that follows, Stringer dolefully acknowledges that “it’s tough to mourn under these circumstances,” adding:
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
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 shiva [a week-long mourning period for first-degree relatives practiced by Jews]. 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.
"Donald Trump has blood on his hands, and he has my mom’s blood on his hands."
An NYC official claims @realDonaldTrump is responsible for his mother's coronavirus-related death. pic.twitter.com/yfmehKf255
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) April 7, 2020
These are genuine hardships, and I sympathize with Stringer. As noted here, New York City officials have warned that the city might be forced to temporarily bury victims of the deadly virus in the city’s potter’s field — or even parks — should the morgues become overburdened. This all seems very primitive for a society in the twenty-first century.
But grief over the loss of a parent in a time of great tragedy is no excuse for publicly politicizing the death. If anything, Stringer is diminishing his mother’s memory by resorting to such cheap tactics.
