A Left Turn Toward ‘Assassination Culture’

Frustrated by defeat, ‘progressives’ normalize political violence

Luigi Mangione appears for his arraignment at Manhattan Criminal Court on December 23, 2024 in New York City. Mangione, 26, was arraigned on state murder charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Manhattan street on December 4.

Learning the difference between right and wrong is as fundamental a skill as any that civilization requires. Mistakes are inevitable along the path of life, of course, but with experience comes the ability to make better choices.

In America circa 2025, though, failure to win at the ballot box is driving “progressives” so deep into frustration that they are not hesitating to crash through the walls of civilized behavior. An “assassination culture” is taking hold that, if allowed to fester, portends grave consequences for the nation.

The sobering dimensions of political malfeasance are catalogued in the findings of a recent study published by the Network of Contagion Research Institute in partnership with Rutgers University’s Social Perception Lab. “Political violence targeting Donald Trump and Elon Musk is becoming increasingly normalized,” write researchers. Unsurprisingly, advocacy for physical harm directed at the president and his prominent adviser — partners in an unprecedented shakeup of Washington bureaucracy — is primarily the province of the political left.

Justified Violence

Among respondents to the institute’s survey who self-identify as left of center, 55% say the murder of Trump would be at least somewhat justified. Another 48% express the same sentiment toward Musk, currently leading the Trump-inspired Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the downsizing of the 3.1 million-person federal work force. Sampling the full political spectrum, researchers report that those who see the murders of the White House duo as “justified” only declines to 38% and 31%, respectively.

Additionally, when asked whether property destruction is a legitimate form of political protest, 40% say they regard the destruction of Musk’s Tesla dealerships as “somewhat acceptable (or more).”

The responses align with the jarring reactions on social media to the assassination of United Healthcare chief executive officer Brian Thompson, who was coldly executed on a New York City street last December. The institute found six out of the top 10 posts on X reacting to the shooting “expressed explicit or implicit support for the killing, or denigrated the victim.”

If viral applause for cowardly murder were not alarming enough, a GiveSendGo page currently collecting money for accused killer Luigi Mangione’s defense is within striking distance of its $1 million goal, thanks to more than 25,000 remorseless advocates of capital crime. Murder should incur costs, not win rewards.

Emerging Dystopia

Social media consumers – predominantly members of the youth set – are quick to react to ill-considered posts by likewise throwing open the window to their souls. The survey reveals an appalling lack of moral judgment in dealing with political dissent on their part.

As their moniker suggests, “progressives” yearn to abandon the ways of their supposedly benighted forebears as they flit hurriedly from one trendy cause to the next, as if they were steppingstones to an imagined era of enlightenment. It is a tragic mistake, though, to break through the fundamental guardrail of human decency, incapsulated in the biblical admonition: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Fundamental respect for fellow human beings has served as the Golden Rule for every flourishing society since the dawn of human civilization. Sadly, history is replete with examples of the poisonous effect of political disagreements that result in murder and mayhem.

“Progressives” who are quick to hang dehumanizing signs around the necks of political opponents like Trump and Musk — as well as place bullseyes on their backs — should search their conflicted consciences for moral clarity. The trendy “assassination culture” they are normalizing promises nothing more than a dystopia that has no place in America.

Frank Perley is a former senior editor and editorial writer at The Washington Times.