Heartbreaking obituary lashes out at ‘ignorant’ Trump

An obituary in a Texas newspaper has gone viral after the family of a coronavirus victim lashed out at President Trump and politicians for being “more concerned with their popularity and votes than lives”.

David Nagy died on 22 July in Longview, Texas aged 79. His obituary, which has been fact-checked and confirmed as real, states that he leaves behind his “inconsolable” wife Stacey, as well as five children and a host of grandchildren and great grandchildren.

It goes on to say that David’s family believe his death was “needless”.

‘Ignorant and selfish people’

“They blame his death and the deaths of all the other innocent people on Trump, [Texas governor Greg] Abbott and all the other politicians who did not take this pandemic seriously and were more concerned with their popularity and votes than lives,” it read.

“Also to blame,” it continued, “are the many ignorant, self-centred and selfish people who refused to follow the advice of the medical professionals, believing their ‘right’ not to wear a mask was more important than killing innocent people.

“A statement issued by the family declared that Dave did everything he was supposed to do, but you did not. Shame on all of you, and may Karma find you all.”

The extraordinary intervention comes as deaths from Covid-19 in the US approached 156,000. Nearly 48,000 new cases of the virus were reported in the country yesterday.

Case numbers continue to surge across the country, including in many states that were quick to reopen their economies earlier in the summer.

‘You can’t do that’

Despite Trump’s insistence that the case spike can be explained by increased testing, the number of people being hospitalised and the percentage of positive tests is rising – although deaths remain below peak levels.

In an interview with Axios released overnight – compared by some to a scene from British political comedy The Thick Of It – Trump brandished charts in an attempt to prove the US was handling the pandemic well.

He then lashed out at the interviewer, who pointed out that the number US deaths as a proportion of the population was higher than countries like South Korea and Germany, telling him “you can’t do that”.

Henry Goodwin

Henry is a reporter with a keen interest in politics and current affairs. He read History at the University of Cambridge and has a Masters in Newspaper Journalism from City, University of London. Follow him on Twitter: @HenGoodwin.