Much of the opening of the Democratic National Convention, hosted by actress Eva Longoria Bastón, focused on uniting the nation after the divisions created by Trumpism and how President Trump has failed the nation in dealing with the coronavirus.
The convention began with a recitation of the Preamble to the Constitution, as well as the Pledge of Allegiance, led by Joe Biden’s grandchildren. The National Anthem was performed by individuals in every state and territory in a montage.
Perhaps the most moving segment was provided by Kristin Urquiza whose healthy 65-year-old father, a Trump supporter, didn’t believe the warnings about the deadliness of the coronavirus because of what he had heard from Trump and other conservative conspiracy theorists.
“His only pre-existing condition is that he believed in Donald Trump,” Urquiza explained. When Arizona’s republican Governor Doug Ducey lifted stay-at-home recommendations–one of the first states in the nation to do so–her father went to a karaoke night.
Within two weeks, he was hospitalized. He spent five days on a ventilator before he died.
“One of the last things my father said to me was that he felt betrayed by Donald Trump,” Urquiza stated.
Soccer player Megan Rapinoe interviewed people on the front line of health care, saying they didn’t have enough manpower, PPE or equipment to stem a second wave of the coronavirus, which one commented, “We know it’s coming.”