Entertainment
CNN Host Under Fire After Appearing To Agree With Guest’s Defense Of ‘Cold-Blooded Killer’
A CNN correspondent appeared a little too eager to agree with a disgraced former reporter that the alleged hitman behind the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson is a folk hero with a good heart.
Donie O’Sullivan, a senior correspondent at the network, could have simply given guest Taylor Lorenz, an influencer and former reporter for the Washington Post, the rope to hang herself as she chided millionaire reporters for “clutching their pearls” while covering Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old believed to have shot and killed Thompson in Manhattan last year.
Instead, O’Sullivan smiled and laughed along as Lorenz described how young women are fawning over Mangione for being a “morally good man” — a “hard to find” commodity in today’s dating marketplace.
Before making the transition to becoming an internet personality, Lorenz was once a high-flying opinion columnist for the Post, covering the intersection of culture and technology with a flare for progressive takes. But her troubles began brewing in August of 2024 after posting a picture of former President Joe Biden on Instagram and captioning it “war criminal :(“.
Lorenz feigned ignorance about the post, saying it was created by a friend. In October, she parted ways with the Post, which never released the findings of its own investigation.
Now a podcast host, Lorenz remains a venerated figure on the left, and in her latest CNN interview, she was all too eager to hold court while describing how Mangione has animated the progressive movement to eat the rich.
O’Sullivan did little to dispel the suggestion that he got too comfortable with Lorenz’s ghastly explanations.
“Women will literally date an assassin before they swipe right on me,” the CNN reporter joked right back to his guest.
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Viewers and online commentators alike were disgusted by the duo’s friendly banter.
“That is most disturbing thing I’ve watched in a long time,” one person wrote in response to O’Sullivan’s initial posting of his interview.
Another reminded the CNN correspondent that he and Lorenz were both laughing about two young children losing their dad to a deranged gunman’s fantasy.
“Brian Thompson’s kids will see this one day and hate the both of you,” he responded.
Tagging CNN, a third wrote, “Glorifying assassination, and why leftwing media supports it for their ideological agenda.”
While progressives like Lorenz may be sending matchmaking cards to Mangione as he awaits trial, the Trump administration is treating the alleged killer very differently.
Last week, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that her office will seek the death penalty at the request of President Donald Trump, who previously said the alleged shooter’s fans are suffering from “a sickness.”
“Luigi Mangione’s murder of Brian Thompson — an innocent man and father of two young children — was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America,” Bondi said. “After careful consideration, I have directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in this case as we carry out President Trump’s agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again.”
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