On January 13, 2018, the state of Hawaii received an alert of an impending nuclear attack from North Korea, but it turned out to be a false alarm. It left Hawaii’s residents in a state of panic until they were notified that it was not a real attack. This is far more serious than it would seem on the surface, and President Donald Trump’s reaction to this crisis is even more alarming.

Before I go any further, I must emphasize that it is a relief that North Korea did not launch a missile at Hawaii after all, but it is equally terrifying that there was a false alarm for a situation so precarious. Many families in Hawaii were left petrified at the thought of being killed in such a deadly fashion.

The threat of North Korea is very real, and there can not be any mistakes during these testing times. There are disasters happening all over the world, and we can only evade them for so long. When people hear of a tragic event that occurred somewhere away from them, they are not nearly as frightened as they would be if they were in danger themselves.

An error by Hawaii’s emergency management administration triggered the false alarm at 1:07 p.m. ET. A message of an impending missile appeared on citizens’ cell phones. Approximately six minutes later, they canceled the message. At 1:20 p.m. ET, the Hawaiian Emergency Management Agency posted a message to Facebook and Twitter: “NO missile threat in Hawaii.” This mistake came with very inconvenient timing given that tensions between the United States and North Korea are seemingly at an all-time high.

Even more concerning is U.S. President Donald Trump’s reaction to this situation. He was playing a game of golf at the time of this gigantic scare and refused to stop playing when he heard of the would-be attack. He did not even reach out to the people of Hawaii and offer his sympathy for them. Regardless of what your political affiliation is, you can not refrain from extending your feelings to your own citizens during a potential crisis as president of any country, let alone the United States.

A leader of a nation must show that they care about the people, so the people can trust them down the road. President Trump has not demonstrated this during this dire situation, nor has he ever seemed that he cares about the American people as a whole.

Trump has recently stated, “they made a mistake.” While this is true, it is extremely disconcerting that he is doing next to nothing to assure the American people, the Hawaiians in particular, that everything is going to be all right.

The hazardous false alarm for a missile attack in Hawaii has had a disastrous effect on our people and faith in our president. It truly represents just how dangerous modern times have become. It is obvious at this point, but professionals simply can not make mistakes of this gravity again.