THE SEXY CEO KILLER WAS A WIN FOR AMERICA’S RIGHT

OSCAR GLYN

Sexy CEO Killer: A Win for America’s Ideological Right

The murder of Brian Thompson has allowed America’s right to legitimise their own martyrs and political vigilantes. The conventional right wing has become emboldened and empowered. No longer is violence a trope of the right, but now a Mangionian development of leftists approach to 'class consciousness'.

The killing of the United healthcare CEO has captured the attention of the public in a vice-like grip. A story which has challenged American’s societal views and probed into the global psyche, asking if there is such a thing as a ‘good murder’?

Luigi Mangione’s good looks have galvanised online support and transformed him into a martyr figure. Mangione fever has all but fizzled, unlike many online trends, and the public trial has not even started. This event has deeply influenced the American political sphere, forcing people to think about where their political allegiances lie, especially regarding healthcare.

Republicans like Vigilantes 

America is not new to killings being politicised and used by either side to demonise the other. In 2020, Kyle Rittenhouse shot and killed 3 Black Lives Matter protestors in Kenosha, Minnesota. President Trump called him ‘a nice young man’ when he met him and his mother at Mar-a-Lago after his acquittal in 2023. Daniel Penny, an ex-marine, was recently acquitted of criminally negligent homicide after strangling a homeless man to death on the New York subway. He met President elect Trump and his Vice president JD Vance at the Army v Navy American football game. 

Presidential figures in American right-wing politics aligning themselves alongside killers demonstrate how Mangione can be exploited for political advantage.  The Democrats have previously called out this alignment. Rashida Tlaib, a democratic representative for Michigan, wrote on X that the justice system ‘protects white supremacy’ and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been vocal regarding the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse. The willingness of politicians to align themselves with these vigilantes and so-called brave men has left an unpleasant taste for many Americans.

 Conversely, the Democrats have created a moral identity based in principle of morality, ethically opposed to the January 6th Capitol riots. Given Democratic campaigning for environmental issues and opposing the abortion ban, they see themselves as the party of society rather than the individual. However, following Mangione’s alleged act of terror, this moralistic standpoint is challenged. It is the turn of America’s right to express outrage. Ted Cruz, a senator for Texas, called ‘leftism a mental disease’ in the wake of Mangione’s attack. Rittenhouse himself tweeted ‘Luigi Mangione shot and killed a man in cold blood and tried to get away with it.’ The American culture war has truly swallowed the murder of the United CEO. 

Comedian, Bill Burr, went on an impassioned speech on his podcast, Monday Morning Podcast, talking about how these healthcare CEO’s themselves were ‘mass murderers’ but that they ‘just don’t pull the trigger.’ The left’s focus on the evil of the healthcare system rather than what the right frames as the brutal murder of an innocent civilian is what gives moral legitimacy to the right. This combined with two attempted assassinations of Donald Trump whilst campaigning in the election has allowed the Democrats to be painted as crazed fanatics who won’t stop to get their point across and takes attention away from Republican alignment with Penny and Rittenhouse. 

Mainstream Media Opinion isn’t Public Opinion

 Benignly ignored in large portions of the media is the response of the public. Political response has been rehashed on our newsfeeds for almost two months, but public response is more nuanced. The reaction to Mangione’s attack has not only made left-wing Americans aware of the healthcare system but also working-class Republicans. This could signify the beginning of the end for ideological politics and more of a class collective approach.

Andrew Witty, CEO of the parent company of United Healthcare, UnitedHealth Group, published an Op-ed in the New York times where he said that the United States healthcare system had become a ‘patchwork built over decades’ and that it ‘does not work as well it should.’ 

Andrew Witty earns 1.5 million dollars before bonuses and directly profits from this ‘patchwork’ system. It is hard to see an instance where he writes this article as an honest opinion piece if he did not envision difficulty moving forward and staying silent. This is the evidence of a feeling of fear from big healthcare CEO’s, not just for copycat killings, but also for public and political issues. This was resonated by New York Governor, Kathy Hochul, who put forward an idea of a hotline for CEOs to call in threats to Law Enforcement according to CNN. This concept before the shooting would’ve seemed ridiculous, but under new light it has gained legitimacy. This is also weaponised by the right in portraying the left against the American dream, a valuable tenet for middle-class Americans. Pressure from the left is nothing new. It has been around for decades in the political-healthcare sphere, but Witty’s words demonstrate a sentiment of political dissent from both sides of the aisle among the public. If pressure mounts from voters, then politicians will react to this, including Republican politicians and bottom lines will inevitably suffer. 

One reason that this is appealing to the wider public across political lines in the states is the ‘radicalisation ‘of Luigi Mangione. In Reddit posts he frequently spoke about how he suffered from severe back pain with a condition called spondylolisthesis. He also posted photos and passages regarding his back and books he had read. This frustration is something that Americans recognise almost universally. This can easily be seen by comments underneath Mangione’s own Reddit posts as people tell their own stories. There is sympathy which exists among Americans demonstrated through a protest on July 15 2024 outside United Healthcare. Now, of course, I am not saying here that they then agree with Mangione’s methods. But that his act has kick-started a renewed focus into the healthcare system and has unified left and right. Americans feel apathy towards the healthcare system. Whether this continues into the next political cycle remains to be seen.

American politics requires itself to be looked at in two differing ways. One is the establishment and how incidents like this can sway the positioning and strength of the two major parties. The other facet is how it can move the voters directly. The impetus this gives to the right wing of American politics to reposition themselves away from people on trial and shed a reputation of standing by vigilantes is a big one, but which ultimately will not be taken. Situations like Mangione’s allow the parties valuable airtime and frankly, both Democrats and Republicans have to take a stand if they want to remain relevant. 

Republicans had the opportunity to condemn Luigi Mangione, and they took it, bettering their public, mainstream image in the process. However, unrest regarding the healthcare system in America has bubbled over the surface again. People are seeing past the politicisation of ObamaCare and how it can benefit them regardless of political alignment. Health insurance companies and the profits they make are causing instability in the political system. In a country where the top 10% own over two thirds (67.2%) of the wealth and is more unequal than ever, big pharma is under increased scrutiny. It remains to be seen whether this will eventually impact law-making or is just another event in the culture war America is embroiled in.