Soon, Martin's heroic actions were unearthed by the media.
Campos (hotel security): "He's a hero. I saw with my own eyes how he entered the room and subdued the shooter—it took less than a minute from start to finish. He prevented so many more people from getting hurt..."
Illya (hotel manager): "Yes, everyone was panicking, running everywhere—I was too. Until Martin burst in. He said: I need to get up there as fast as possible to stop him... I led him to the elevator, and we went up to the 32nd floor. When I saw Martin step out without hesitation, I nearly cried. He's a hero."
Survivors from the music festival also expressed their gratitude to Martin, while protesting the police's sluggish response.
"I'm alive thanks to Martin. As a billionaire, he didn't have to do any of this, but he did. Yes, he's a hero, and I'll be grateful to him for the rest of my life."
"Martin is just incredible. The scene was utter chaos—everyone was just running, including me and my friends. For Martin to step up in that situation shows the heroic genes in him. He's our Captain America."
"Why were the police so late? They arrived twenty minutes after the shooter started firing. Do they deserve the taxpayers' money?"
Many victims' families believed the hotel was grossly negligent, allowing the shooter to check in with a massive arsenal and ammunition, ultimately leading to the tragedy.
These families banded together, demanding compensation from the hotel's owner, MGM Resorts International.
In the end, MGM Resorts International announced they would compensate the 58 victims and hundreds of injured from the Las Vegas shooting, with the total settlement reaching up to $800 million.
Per the agreement, the victims' side would drop all pending lawsuits against MGM Resorts International.
According to U.S. media reports, this settlement set the third-highest victim compensation in U.S. history.
The shooting propelled Martin to even greater fame in North America, with waves of "desire" laced with gratitude and admiration surging toward him.
When Trump learned his daughter had been at the scene, he flew into a rage. The next day, he proposed even stricter gun control measures.
Of course, they had no chance of passing.
...
Since taking office, Trump had endured relentless criticism from U.S. mainstream media.
Interestingly, quite a few lower-class leftists staunchly supported him.
This week, Slovenian Marxist philosopher Slavoj Žižek, in an interview with the UK's Channel 4, stated: "If I were an American, I'd absolutely support Trump's policies. The American people chose Trump correctly."
"Hillary represents absolute inertia—the most dangerous kind. She's a Cold War relic, cozying up to the banking elite while disguising herself as a progressive."
U.S. Marxist theorist Fredric Jameson also discussed Trump in an interview: "From our foreign policy perspective, I really dislike the 'democracy' slogan."
"I think, for the left, it's not the best slogan."
"Stuart Hall has a great concept about political struggle called 'hegemonic struggle.' It's similar to Laclau's idea: If you can contaminate your opponent's political slogan, you've achieved a certain goal—you make it unusable for them. The Occupy Wall Street movement and Sanders contributed here: The former revived class discussions, the latter reclaimed economic language."
"At the same time, Trump emerged."
Jameson said approvingly: "The current U.S. administrative system is actually on the verge of collapse: Republicans have no policies; they don't want new taxes, they don't want to spend money, just hoard it. Democrats blocked Obama fr om doing anything, and Hillary has no ideas either."
"Trump filled the vacuum born from that freedom. It's like when Berlusconi rose in Italy. Some call it neo-fascism, but my answer: Not yet."
"This country needs an agitator, and Trump fits the role perfectly. The left should rebuild the concept of the nation; facing ecological crises requires a strong state."
Compared to the left's endorsement of Trump, U.S. right-wingers were furious.
Not at Trump, but at those who had abandoned them—like Hillary, the Clintons, little Bush.
Many of these right-wingers were factory workers, toiling in grueling jobs across America.
They felt they deserved some payback.
But the "team" wasn't moving forward at all.
Many realized that in 20 years, their wages hadn't risen. Everyone in the family worked, even overtime; bank loans still loomed. Nothing had changed.
Then they noticed people cutting in line. Who?
Those benefiting from affirmative action.
Like women, now entering fields once dominated by men.
Like Black people, now taking jobs that used to be all White.
And refugees, immigrants—all piling in.
Now, they found the line to higher tiers had grown longer, their positions pushed further back.
Former President Obama should have overseen this fairly, but now he kept urging these people to keep cutting in.
Was Obama a line-cutter too? How did he get into Harvard, into Columbia? He came from a single-parent family—where'd the money come from?
Those jumping the queue turned back to curse them: You crude "rednecks."
In demographic stats, their share was shrinking.
They felt like strangers on this land.
They believed the government was just a machine endlessly marginalizing them.
So they shouted: "We need a new president now."
And Trump took office.
In their words: "We don't even like Trump, but we're the 'deplorables' abandoned by the elites Hillary represents. We had no choice but to support him."
Martin said to Ivanka: "Your dad can exploit these people."
Ivanka asked: "How?"
Martin pulled out a document. Maybe this could be turned into something useful.
Ivanka took it curiously, her brows furrowing deeper as she read.
"This... is this real?"
She said in shock.
"Of course it's real."