'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
On December 16, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump commented on the suspect in the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, Luigi Mangione. As reported by Business Insider on December 16, 2024, during a press conference held at Mar-a-Lago, Trump expressed concern about the validation Mangione was getting from a section of the public.
The President-elect said:
"I think it's really terrible that some people seem to admire him. I was happy to see that it wasn't specific to this gentleman that was killed. It's just an overall sickness as opposed to a specific sickness."
Trump added:
That was a terrible thing. It was cold-blooded. Just a cold-blooded, horrible killing. How people can like this guy, that's a sickness actually."
A clip of Trump's comments regarding Luigi Mangione went viral, prompting netizens to take to X to express their opinions. One user, seemingly disagreeing with Trump's statement, tweeted:
"He always on the wrong side of history 😭😭😭 #FREELUIGI"
Netizens echoed similar sentiments on the social media platform.
"literally everybody could say the same thing about him," an X user commented.
"We feel the same way about Trump supporters," another X user mentioned.
"maybe we wouldn’t be down with this “sickness” if the sickness was covered by our insurance 🤒,"an internet user said.
"That’s crazy because I wonder the exact same thing about how people like Trump 🤷🏽♂️" another internet user stated.
Moreover, some individuals referred to Trump's criminal records to condemn his statement on Mangione.
"Alexa, define “pot calling the kettle black”. Mr +30 felony’s over here got something to say 😭," a netizen tweeted.
"wait so an exploitative, corrupt, CEO condemns violence against another exploitative, corrupt CEO?? dammm thats crazy," another netizen mentioned.
"That's possibly why he targeted that that company"— NYPD Chief of Detectives comments on Luigi Mangione's intent
Luigi Mangione was arrested on December 9, 2024, and a "ghost gun" was found on him, as confirmed by NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch. The weapon was sent to the NYPD, where the department confirmed that the shell casings recovered from the crime scene matched those found in the weapon.
According to a report by NBC NewYork dated December 16, 2024, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny stated that they brought the gun found with Mangione to the forensics laboratory, where it was matched to three discharge shell casings recovered at the scene.
Kenny also mentioned that there was no indication that Magione was a client of UnitedHealthcare when talking about his intent. He added:
"We have no indication that he was ever a client of United Healthcare, but he does make mention that it is the fifth largest corporation in America, which would make it the largest healthcare organization in America. So that's possibly why he targeted that that company."
NBC New York reported that Luigi Mangione was arraigned on December 9, 2024, on two felony charges, including carrying a firearm without a license and forgery. Additionally, he faced three misdemeanors, including providing false identification to law enforcement, tampering with records or identification, and possessing instruments of crime.
Luigi Mangione is set to appear in court on gun charges in Pennsylvania on December 30, 2024.
