Fitness instructor Amanda Kloots _ who recently lost her husband, Broadway star Nick Cordero, to COVID-19 _ had a message for Donald Trump after the president told Americans not to "be afraid" of the deadly illness or "let it dominate your life."
"To all the over 208,000 Americans who lost loved ones to this virus _ I stand by you, with you, holding your hand," Kloots wrote Tuesday on Instagram. "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??"
Tony nominee Cordero, known for his roles in "Bullets Over Broadway," "Rock of Ages," "Waitress" and other productions, died in July at age 41 after a long battle with COVID-19 that involved a leg amputation and a medically induced coma, among other complications.
He and Kloots married in September 2017 and shared a 1-year-old son, Elvis. Monday marked three months since Cordero's death.
"Unfortunately not everyone is lucky enough to spend two days in the hospital," Kloots continued in her post. "I cried next to my husband for 95 days watching what COVID did to the person I love."
On Monday night, Trump returned to the White House after receiving treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. The president announced he and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19 last week after reports surfaced one of his top aides, Hope Hicks, had contracted the illness.
Trump has continued to downplay the dangers of COVID-19, which has infected several other White House figures and taken the lives of more than 210,000 Americans during his presidency.
"It IS something to be afraid of," Kloots wrote. "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."
