Or so say the murderer’s supporters and apologists.
Americans are allowed to “stan” (obsess over) murderers like the “handsome,” “smart,” and “morally good” Luigi Mangione, who murdered United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in cold blood last year — according, at least, to some of his hyper-online fans.
Former Washington Post columnist and current independent writer Taylor Lorenz has been a Mangione apologist since the 26-year-old suspected assassin allegedly gunned down Thompson on the streets of Manhattan in December. Lorenz piled on the praise for Mangione in a CNN interview last weekend.
“It’s hilarious to see these millionaire media pundits on TV clutching their pearls about someone stanning a murderer when this is the United States of America — as if we don’t lionize criminals,” Lorenz said. “As if we don’t stan murderers of all sorts. We give them Netflix shows!”
“Here’s this man who, who’s a revolutionary, who’s famous, who’s handsome, who’s young, who’s smart — he’s a person that seems like a morally good man, which is hard to find,” Lorenz continued.
Jim has already dissected CNN’s awful decision to platform the influencer. It seems odd, he pointed out, that CNN would bring back into public discourse the Mangione craze months after the suspect was apprehended. Unfortunately, Mangione’s fan club has been growing since December, and it saw a bit of a resurgence when Attorney General Pam Bondi encouraged prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Mangione in early April. Bondi’s decision was “explicitly and unapologetically political,” Mangione’s lawyers said, adding that “the stakes could not be higher. The United States government intends to kill Mr. Mangione as a political stunt.”
They cast Mangione as a hero for the oppressed. He’s received many pieces of fan mail, photos, and donations to his legal campaign since he was arrested — so many that his defense team had to create a website to manage the “extraordinary volume of inquiries and outpouring of support.” The suspect has a GiveSendGo fundraiser for his defense fund, which has garnered some of the largest donations in the past month or so, including individual donations of $36,500, $30,000, $23,000, $20,000, $11,000, $6,000, and more. The fund has raised $905,809 so far.
“I am overwhelmed by — and grateful for — everyone who has written me to share their stories and express their support,” Mangione said in a statement on his website. “Powerfully, this support has transcended political, racial, and even class divisions, as mail has flooded MDC from across the country, and around the globe. While it is impossible for me to reply to most letters, please know that I read every one that I receive. Thank you again to everyone who took the time to write. I look forward to hearing more in the future.”
The public defense of Mangione doesn’t seem to be old news. Today, an intruder was arrested near the UnitedHealthcare headquarters. Recently, Thompson’s murder fueled the debut of an off-Broadway show about two employees who kidnap their CEO. CNN’s decision to publicize Lorenz’s defense of Mangione is questionable but not altogether irrelevant, considering that Bondi’s latest announcement renewed the effort to glorify Mangione as a vigilante.
Regardless, it’s ridiculous to accuse normal Americans who dislike murder as pearl-clutching elites. Most Americans don’t watch Netflix shows about serial killers because they exalt murderers. It takes a special person to laugh about the cold-blooded murder of a father-of-two on television, and it takes a special news anchor to laugh along, as CNN correspondent Donie O’Sullivan did.