‘That Man Had A Family!’ Disgusted Jim Acosta Goes Off On Fans Hot For CEO Shooting Suspect Luigi Mangione

CNN anchor Jim Acosta torched public reaction to the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the adulation and lust being directed at shooting suspect Luigi Mangione.

Mangione was arrested Monday for the shocking cold-blooded murder of Thompson, which resulted in a frantic manhunt, a ghoulish celebration of the crime by angry masses of health insurance industry critics, and a lustful following fawning over surveillance stills.

On Tuesday’s edition of CNN Newsroom With Jim Acosta, the anchor was joined by CNN media correspondent Brian Stelter for a discussion of the fallout so far.

A disgusted Acosta acknowledged the “frustration” behind anger at insurance companies, but was beside himself over the celebrations and the focus on Mangione’s appearance:

JIM ACOSTA: People on social media have glorified Brian Thompson’s murder. There has been an avalanche of comments supporting it. Last week, a former Washington Post reporter said, quote, “People wonder why we want these executives dead.”

In just the last 24 hours, social media users have seized on the suspect’s appearance. It’s yet another sign of the toxicity of the public discourse in the U.S.

Brian, I mean, we have to say from the get go, I mean, obviously, it should go without saying that a murder like this is just unbelievably tragic. And he has a family and it’s completely uncalled for, full stop! What do you make of the reaction that we’ve been seeing on social media? Just it seems to underline this toxicity that exists in our culture.

BRIAN STELTER: Yes, humanity versus inhumanity. That’s the dividing line here. And I, I think most people, most people, including on social media, are on the side of humanity. They don’t want to see a father and a businessman killed in cold blood.

…

JIM ACOSTA: Certainly people feel passionately about our health care industry and, you know, I was talking about this again the other day, you know, when you get these statements in the mail from your health insurer that says, well, we’re covering this or we’re not covered, it’s infuriating. You want to pull your hair out.

But at the same time, there is a way for young people out there who are going online and talking about the suspect’s appearance and so on. They can do something with their time other than going on these social media sites and posting these kinds of comments.

They can go organize. They can do the things that can be done to get legislation passed in this country.

It might be a lot harder than posting your hot take on social media, but my goodness, that is how you get real change in this country. Not, not doing, not doing what Mangione did and certainly not putting him up on a pedestal.

BRIAN STELTER: Yeah, it’s it’s a little bit of the cruelty Olympics online. People are competing to have the hottest take, make the most cruel comments. You know and I think we live in an environment now, especially in social media environments where sometimes there’s there’s a you know, people will say they’re just kidding. They’ll post something that seems very serious, very ugly, and they’ll say, no, no, we’re just kidding.

We’ve seen this for many years now, especially in political debates. It is it is very difficult to have a debate or have a disagreement with someone who can then just say, well, I’m just joking. I’m not really calling for someone’s killing.

That’s the environment, though, that we’re we’re in right now. It’s a result of this culture that rewards and, you know, kind of viral and shocking comments.

Always though, Jim, it’s important recognize I think the majority of people are not making these kinds of comments. It’s this minority that sounds very loud on the Internet and that’s why companies like Amazon are taking action, because they are they are recognizing this is a real phenomenon they have to grapple with.

JIM ACOSTA: Absolutely. We’ve seen a lot of people use cruelty to engage in clout chasing in our in our political dialog. And that is what is so terribly disappointing. And you don’t want it to see it infected across all sides of the political spectrum.

And I you know, certainly there’s there’s a lot to be said about fixing our health care industry. But this is just not the way.

And elevating somebody who did something like this is certainly not the way. This man had a family! There are people suffering as a result of this!

Watch above via CNN Newsroom With Jim Acosta.