A man who was shot in the leg during the concert attack in Las Vegas said he could not see himself lying in bed as President Donald Trump toured the hospital and so he painstakingly stood to shake the president’s hand when the two finally met.
Thomas Gunderson, a member of the audience at the fateful concert that became the target of the Las Vegas killer, was hit in the leg that terrible Sunday night. But he said he thought it was disrespectful not to stand to greet the president and first lady.
The amazing video shows Gunderson painfully rising to shake hands with First Lady Melania Trump as she entered his hospital room at University Medical Center in Las Vegas. The first lady pleads for him not to get up, but Gunderson was undeterred.
The wounded man then stood a second time when the president entered to shake hands.
“Hey, this guy looks tough to me,” the president said as he shook the shooting victim’s hand.
The California man posted his video to Facebook explaining, “I will never lie down when the President of this great country comes to shake my hand!”
“There may be plenty of issues in this country, but I will always respect my country, my president, and my flag. Shot in the leg or not, I will stand to show my President the respect he deserves!” Gunderson added.
Gunderson is clearly a Trump fan for on the patient info whiteboard in his room he wrote “#MAGA” under the section reading, “what’s important to me.”
Trump later told reporters, “I just met some of the most amazing people. We met patients that were absolutely terribly wounded.”
“The doctors, the nurses – all of the people at the hospital have done a job that’s indescribable,” the president said.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.