Democrats and their allies in elite institutions continue to reveal a disturbing comfort with political violence and dehumanizing rhetoric toward their opponents.
For years, this has been evident in their reactions to unrest and bloodshed, from their unapologetic cheerleading for the rioters and looters during the 2020 George Floyd riots to their refusal to unequivocally denounce the politically motivated attacks on Tesla dealerships, owners, and ICE facilities in 2025, as reported by RedState. That pattern has only hardened, exposing a cultural rot in segments of the left that now treat violence against conservatives not as a tragedy, but as a punchline or a form of justice.
The most chilling examples have often come from people in positions of public trusteducators, medical professionals, and other authority figureswho took to social media after the assassination of Charlie Kirk. It was not a handful of fringe voices but a chorus of them, proudly recording TikTok videos proclaiming that Kirk got exactly what he deserved and openly suggesting that others like him should be next.
Some of the ugliest commentary came in the wake of the catastrophic Texas floods in the summer of 2025, where children lost their lives. Yet there were those on the left who coldly asserted that these children got what their parents voted for, weaponizing tragedy to score ideological points against grieving families.
Now, in the aftermath of the White House Correspondents Association Dinner shooting, the same Usual Suspects are back at it, apparently unableor unwillingto restrain their worst impulses. The incident has once again exposed how normalized assassination chic has become in certain progressive circles, where the attempted murder of political figures is treated as fodder for snark and social-media clout.
One especially revealing case involves a former UnitedHealthcare employee whose own words cost her a job but underscored a broader cultural problem. Shortly after the attempted assassination of President Trump and several cabinet secretaries on Saturday night, she posted a TikTok that left little doubt about her reaction.
UnitedHealthcare has fired a woman who expressed sadness in a TikTok video that President Donald Trump was not killed in the Saturday shooting during the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, the report noted. In the video, she sarcastically asked, Aww, they missed?
Her commentary did not stop there, as she openly admitted that her first instinct was to assume the attack was staged. We're cooked as a country when my first reaction to hearing the news about Trump's attempt was, It was probably fake," Alison King, who has reportedly deleted her LinkedIn account but was identified as a social media manager for UnitedHealthcare, said in the video.
King went on to describe her second reaction in equally callous terms, before tacking on a thin veneer of faux remorse. Like, immediately I was like, 'Oh, that wasn't real, probably fake," King said. "And the second was 'Aww, they missed? So happy they missed. Yeah, that's sad," King said sarcastically.
Her remarks quickly circulated online, with users tagging her employer and demanding accountability. Social media manager for @UHC is sad that the shooter missed Any comment @UHC? one post asked, amplifying the clip and putting pressure on the company to respond.
UnitedHealthcare did respond on Tuesday morning, making clear that Kingwho listed her pronouns as she/herwas no longer employed there. Violence is never acceptable and any comments that suggest otherwise are in no way consistent with our mission and values. The person who made comments online about Saturday nights incident at a Washington event where President Trump and many other political leaders were gathered is no longer employed by the company.
Another firm, Skol Marketing, also felt compelled to distance itself from King after her name surfaced in connection with their business. Alison King has not worked for Skol Marketing in five years. We have no association with her and do not condone violence in any form, the company stated.
Even setting aside the politics, her behavior is appalling on its face, but the context makes it even more grotesque. UnitedHealthcares own CEO, Brian Thompson, was assassinated in December 2024, allegedly by an individual with a grudge against the health insurance industry, and yet a former social media manager for the company felt comfortable joking publicly about another high-profile shooting.
The alleged killer, Luigi Mangione, has not been treated as a pariah by the radical left; instead, he has been romanticized and glorified. The assassins are cheered by their potential groupies who line up for them, as they did for Luigi Mangini, one post observed, capturing the macabre fandom that now surrounds political violence in some progressive spaces.
This is no longer a fringe phenomenon confined to anonymous extremists; it has been mainstreamed by influential far-left personalities. Among them is Hasan Piker, a popular streamer and assassination apologist who has been warmly embraced by prominent Democrats including New York City Council member Zohran Mamdani, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) and Ilhan Omar (MN-05), and Michigan Senate Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
When leading figures on the left align themselves with voices that trivialize or excuse political violence, it sends a signal that such rhetoric is acceptable, even fashionable. As was observed earlier this week, Democrats are having a real crossing the Rubicon moment, and there may be no turning back, a warning that should trouble anyone who still believes in civil society, the rule of law, and the basic dignity of human liferegardless of party.
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