Donald Trump Slams Those Who Are Defending Luigi Mangione: 'That's a Sickness, Actually'

Mar. 15, 2025

Donald Trump and Luigi Mangione.Photo:Sarah Meyssonnier/Getty; PA Department of Corrections/Anadolu via Getty

Sarah Meyssonnier/Getty; PA Department of Corrections/Anadolu via Getty

Donald Trumpis condemning the alleged actions ofLuigi Mangioneand the people who defend him.

In a Dec. 17 news conference, the president-elect, 78, denounced the man accused of killingUnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompsonin New York City on Dec. 4, and expressed similar disdain for his supporters.

“I think it’s really terrible that some people seem to admire him, like him,” Trump said. “And 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. That was a terrible thing.”

He continued, “It was cold-blooded. Just a cold-blooded, horrible killing. And how people can like this guy is— that’s a sickness, actually.”

Donald Trump.Andrew Harnik/Getty

Andrew Harnik/Getty

Trump’s comment about Mangione is one of his clearest condemnations of violence to date.

In 2020, then-President Trumpdefendedthe actions ofKyle Rittenhouse, a teenager who was charged with first-degree intentional homicide of two men andultimately acquitted.

Kyle Rittenhouse prepares to testify at his criminal trial on Nov. 10, 2021.Sean Krajacic-Pool/Getty

Trump was later called on todenounce the violencecommitted in his name.

“I know your pain, I know your hurt,” he said to rioters after they had overtaken Capitol police officers, later adding, “We have to have peace. So, go home. We love you, you’re very special.”

Lawmakers are evacuated in gas masks as pro-Trump rioters breach the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

More recently, Republicans have hailed Daniel Penny as a hero. Penny, a Marine Corps veteran, wasrecently acquittedon charges related to his2023 killing of Jordan Neely, a homeless Black man, on the New York City subway. After Neely threatened subway passengers, Penny allegedly held him in a fatal chokehold that lasted for several minutes.

On Dec. 14, Penny was invited to join Trump and Vice President-electJ.D. Vanceas a special guest at the annual Army-Navy football game.

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Trump’s comment about Mangione supporters comes after some Americans have made light of the assassination online and praised the suspected shooter fortargeting the health insurance industry.

Mangione faces a slew of charges in relation to the assassination, includingfirst-degree murderand terrorism.

source: people.com