Colorado’s Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper thinks Donald Trump’s response to the Orlando shooting was devoid of compassion and a reflection of how he would react to a similar tragedy as president.
“He cared nothing for compassion, there was no sense of dignity, and those are the things that generally a community grieving finds nourishing,” Hickenlooper said in an interview with the New York Times.
Hickenlooper, who dealt with the 2012 mass shooting in Aurora, Colo., described Trump’s response as “mean-spirited” and unfair “to the victims and their family members.”
A day after the shooting took place, Trump posted a tweet thanking his followers for “the congrats on being right on radical Islamic terrorism.”
“Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don’t want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance. We must be smart!” he said. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee later doubled down on his call to temporarily bar all non-American Muslims from entering the U.S.
“To a certain extent, people’s behavior in a campaign is generally a reflection of how they would act in office,” Hickenlooper noted, suggesting Americans could see Trump strike a self-congratulatory response in a similar situation if he makes it to the White House.
Hickenlooper endorsed Hillary Clinton in February and has previously been the subject of vice presidential speculation. He held a fundraiser for the former secretary of state in April at the governor’s mansion in Denver.
