Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, strongly criticized the health care industry for its lack of concern for sick patients and called on fellow lawmakers to pay attention to the deep-seated anger felt by Americans following the killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
In a video posted on X, Murphy (D-Conn.) stated, “I’m never going to condone violence. I don’t here. What I see happening in this country though, is a real visceral anger, that the outrage of Brian Thompson’s death, or the outrage of the death of any powerful person, isn’t matched by the anger over the anger of the thousands of people who die often anonymous deaths every single day at the hands of a health care industry that mostly doesn’t give a s–t.”
“People in America today feel ignored, they feel scared, they feel alone that intentionally grinds them down. A system where profit matters more than life,” he added. “My colleagues need to listen and we need to do something about it.”
Thompson, 50, was executed in broad daylight on the streets of Manhattan while heading to a conference.
Some Americans critical of private health insurers have celebrated accused shooter Mangione, combing through the 26-year-old’s public posts and pictures and even creating merch about other “most wanted CEOs.”
Murphy and other Democratic senators have sought to channel the rage of Americans against private health insurers in the wake of the shooting.
President-elect Donald Trump in a wide-ranging press conference on Monday said it was “terrible that some people seem to admire” Mangione.
