(Headline USA) Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., tried to walk back her comments this week justifying the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
In an interview on Tuesday, Warren condemned the violent killing, but then defended those who are frustrated with the healthcare system.
“The visceral responses from people across this country who feel cheated, ripped off, and threatened by the vile practices of their insurance companies should be a warning to everyone in the health care system,” she told the Huffington Post. “Violence is never the answer, but people can be pushed only so far.”
Thompson’s alleged killer, Luigi Mangione, reportedly vented his anger with the healthcare system in a manifesto obtained by law enforcement, at one point describing officials such as Thompson as “parasites.”
According to Warren, Mangione simply “lost faith” in the system and felt forced to act out.
“This is a warning that if you push people hard enough, they lose faith in the ability of their government to make change, lose faith in the ability of the people who are providing the health care to make change, and start to take matters into their own hands in ways that will ultimately be a threat to everyone,” she said.
Warren then doubled down on her comments during an interview with MSNBC.
“We’ll say it over and over,” she said. “This guy [Luigi Mangione] gets a trial who’s allegedly killed the CEO of UnitedHealth[care], but you can only push people so far, and then they start to take matters into their own hands.”
After facing backlash, Warren admitted to Politico that she should have been “much clearer that there is never a justification for murder.”
She added, “Violence is never the answer. Period.”
Even Democrats blasted Warren over her callous remarks.
“It’s fair to read that as excusing outright murder and that is the road to complete disorder and chaos,” Democratic strategist Mark Penn wrote on X. “Warren was just re-elected but do the voters really understand just how radical her views are?”
Stunned
Elizabeth Warren’s comments that in effect justify murder are shocking.
She said, “Violence is never the answer, but people can be pushed only so far…”
It’s fair to read that as excusing outright murder and that is the road to complete disorder and chaos.
Warren…
— Mark Penn (@Mark_Penn) December 12, 2024
