Democrats are forming an assassination culture as Trump rises in power, new study reveals
A disturbing new report reveals that violent political rhetoric online, including calls for the murder of public figures like President Trump and Elon Musk, is being increasingly normalized, particularly on the left.The report, from the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), found that a growing number of people are willing to justify and even applaud killing in the name of politics and a warped sense of social justice.The chilling change appears to have accelerated in recent months.“What was formerly taboo culturally has become acceptable,” Joel Finkelstein, lead author of the report, told Fox News Digital.
“We are seeing a clear shift — glorification, increased attempts and changing norms — all converging into what we define as ‘assassination culture.’”The NCRI study traces the cultural shift back to the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, allegedly by Luigi Mangione, in December 2024.What followed, researchers say, was a viral wave of memes that turned Mangione into a folk hero. According to the study, these memes have sparked copycat behavior targeting other figures associated with wealth and conservative politics.“It’s not just Luigi anymore,” Finkelstein said.
“We’re seeing an expansion: Trump, Musk and others are now being openly discussed as legitimate targets, often cloaked in meme culture and gamified online dialogue.”A ballot measure in California, darkly named the Luigi Mangione Access to Health Care Act, is just one real-world outgrowth of this online movement.The NCRI conducted a nationally representative survey of more than 1,200 US adults, weighted to reflect national census demographics.The findings were stark: Some 38% of respondents said it would be at least “somewhat justified” to murder Trump, and 31% said the same about Musk.When counting only left-leaning respondents, justification for killing Trump rose to 55% and Musk to 48%. “These are not isolated opinions,” the report sta...