(Julianna Frieman, Headline USA) Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, blasted Saturday Night Live’s studio audience for exploding with cheers at the mention of Luigi Mangione, the alleged murderer who shot dead UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan on Dec. 4.
On Monday’s episode of his Verdict with Ted Cruz podcast, the Texas senator tore into the cult following of women lusting after Mangione.
“The reaction of the audience, this is a live audience in New York City,” Cruz said. “I gotta say it, it took my breath away.”
In the clip from Saturday played on Cruz’s podcast, SNL host Colin Jost paused and said, “You’re wooing for justice, right?” when an excited crowd shrieked with delight at the sound of the accused killer’s name.
He continued on to deliver his quip about dating app Bumble exploding as Mangione dropped his extradition fight to be flown from Pennsylvania to New York to face multiple criminal charges.
My parents were in the audience at the very first taping of Saturday Night Live. It was probably too edgy for them, even back then. But this? Cheering on a murderer? New Yorkers have fallen beyond the point of return. pic.twitter.com/bGdZ7QzdXF
— The Based Mother (née Elena) (@TheBasedMother) December 22, 2024
Cruz commented, “Charles Manson, woo hoo. Jeffrey Dahmer, yay. Ted Bundy, woo hoo. Like, what the hell is wrong with people?”
“The leftists have spread the ideology that oppressors being the subject of violence is a good thing… These are the same idiots that are cheering Hamas in Israel,” Cruz added. “These are the same idiots that look the other way at Black Lives Matter and Antifa riots for an entire year because if it’s a so-called victim against a so-called oppressor, violence and murder is okay.”
Trump & Cruz at Turning Point on the Incredible Mandate from the Election, plus Biden Considering Pardoning Every Murderer on Federal Death Row.@benfergusonshow and I break it all down on Verdict. Available wherever you get your podcasts.https://t.co/ItbIgJkC5j
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) December 23, 2024
Before he was removed from the Huntington State Correctional Institute in Pennsylvania and extradited back to New York, Mangione reportedly received 54 emails and 87 physical letters from horny groupies attracted to the alleged assassin.
He also received 163 deposits into an account allowing him to purchase snacks and other items, correction officials told the New York Post.
“You just heard screams of joy, and that is the poison that has been accepted, sadly so far on the left of our society,” Cruz said of the joyful SNL audience’s affinity for Mangione.
Julianna Frieman is a freelance writer published by the Daily Caller, Headline USA, The Federalist, and The American Spectator. Follow her on Twitter at @JuliannaFrieman.
