President-elect Donald Trump on Monday said people who admire suspected United Healthcare shooter Luigi Mangione have a “sickness.”
“There’s a certain appetite for him. I don’t get it,” the incoming president said about the online fandom.
In the days since Mangione allegedly fatally shot United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown, Manhattan, some people online have lauded him as a hero. They have expressed rage over systemic denied health insurance claims, high medical debt, and losing loved ones due to denied claims.
Trump told reporters at an unrelated news conference that he could not comprehend fans’ thirst.
“The way it was done, it was so bad. Right in the back,” the Republican said, referring to Mangione allegedly shooting Thompson in the back of the head. “A thing like that, you just, you can’t believe that some people — and maybe it’s fake news.”
“It’s really terrible that some people seem to admire him, like him.”
“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.”
