Thirty-two floors above the crowd, a shooter opened fire on thousands of people gathered for the Route 91 country festival in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sunday, Oct. 2 Paddock killed approximately 59 people and injured at least 520. Paddock was a Caucasian male and a retired accountant living in Mesquite, Nevada.
President Donald Trump responded to the casualty on Monday morning. Instead of addressing the reoccurring issue and the nation’s problem with gun laws, Trump said “we are all looking for some light in the darkness. The answers do not come easy.”
Additionally, Trump has been less than sympathetic towards the United States territory of Puerto Rico, which was severely impacted by Hurricane Maria. Since then, Trump has continuously denied any problems with Puerto Rico relief efforts, as many parts of the island still remain without running water, gasoline or basic necessities. Trump recently visited Puerto Rico on Tuesday.
In the wake of a crisis, the President’s response is crucial. Whether President Trump responded accordingly is debatable, however. We asked Humboldt State University students what they thought of Trump’s response.
Question: “What do you think of Trump’s reaction to the Las Vegas shooting on and his plan to visit Las Vegas on Wednesday?”
“He has left Puerto Rico as they are and put them on the back burner. I don’t think visiting is what he needs to be focusing on, when he has taken as much money from the NRA as he has, that’s where he needs to be looking for a change.” – Macy Suchan, 21, Communication, Senior
“I don’t like his demagogic use of Twitter instead of another media outlet. The shooter was portrayed as many other white perpetrators in the news, a ‘lone wolf.’” – Quinn Bornemann, 21, English, Senior
“This showed his ability to respond with swiftness, he just chooses not to respond to other disasters, which is not presidential at all.” – Wren Broekema, 22, Academic Research, Graduate Student
“I think he’s so quick to respond because he wants to justify the action, the keep the “American” image. It’s like anyone who isn’t white is bad and whoever is white is justifiable.”- Romero Perez, 20, Environmental Resources Engineering, Sophomore
“It bothers me that the media is not referring to this white male as a terrorist.” Kammi Loyd, 18, Psychology, Sophomore
“I can assume Trump has a lot of corporate and financial connections and power in Las Vegas. This is a pretty direct issue, unlike the hurricanes that involve a lot of problem-solving so it’s an issue that he can touch on without getting too involved with.” – Francisca Crutchfield, 27, Education, Graduate Student