House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote a letter Thursday to President Donald Trump, urging him to order all flags flown at half staff when the coronavirus death toll reaches 100,000.
The number of Americans who have died with the coronavirus is roughly 95,000, according to Johns Hopkins. (RELATED: NYC Adds Nearly 4,000 People Who Never Tested Positive To Coronavirus Death Tolls)
PELOSI and SCHUMER write TRUMP asking him to order flags flown at half staff on the day America reaches 100k COVID deaths. pic.twitter.com/rErBkhFzJh
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) May 21, 2020
“This weekend, we will observe Memorial Day an occasion of great importance as we honor the men and women who were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for our country,” the two leading Democrats wrote. “As we pay our respects to them, sadly, our country mourns the deaths of nearly 100,000 Americans from COVID-19. Our hearts are broken over this great loss and our prayers are with their families.”
“Respectful of them and the loss to our country, we are writing to request that you order flags to be flown at half staff on all public buildings in our country on the sad day of reckoning when we reach 100,000 deaths. It would serve as a national expression of grief so needed by everyone in our country,” they continued.
The letter comes as Pelosi and Trump have spent days trading insults, with Pelosi referring to the president as “morbidly obese,” and Trump responding that the speaker has “mental problems.”