Peter Thiel's Fumbling Response Over the Healthcare Executive Shooting

Billionaire Peter Thiel's interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored took an awkward turn when the host confronted him with the tough question regarding the recent high-profile killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Bryan Thompson, asking him to react to people who hail the shooter, Luigi Mangione, as a hero; Thiel stuttered through what can only be described as a fragmented and incoherent answer.

Thiel's response-or rather, lack thereof-was characterized by pauses and a fragmented attempt to address the question. For close to 20 seconds, he sat in silence, quite visibly wrestling with how to phrase his response. When he finally spoke, the words lacked clarity and conviction. His eventual response amount­ed to a rambling appeal for rational debate over violence, together with a vague condemnation of the accused shooter.

The billionaire couldn't quite articulate a coherent perspective, vaguely acknowledging flaws in the healthcare system, failing to firmly denounce the extreme rhetoric surrounding the incident. Instead, his words spiraled into a repetitive loop, emphasizing that change should come through argument and persuasion, not violence. Even this point was made haltingly, leaving an impression of discomfort and indecision.

Adding to the tension, Thiel discovered during the interview that Mangione had reposted excerpts from one of his speeches on Silicon Valley leadership. The revelation seemed to further unnerve Thiel, who conceded that expressing certain views can be risky but stopped short of taking responsibility for how his words might resonate with others.

Thiel's earlier speech, in which he made remarks about the prevalence of Asperger's among Silicon Valley leaders, had drawn attention for its critique of societal norms. Mangione had apparently latched onto this rhetoric, though a connection between the speech and his violent actions is speculative at best. Thiel seemed unprepared to address the implications of his words being tied, however tenuously, to the accused killer.

It really questions Thiel's preparedness for public scrutiny, especially on the use of inflammatory rhetoric and its consequences. His inability to offer anything like a cohesive or empathetic response served only to heighten frustrations around the discourse on this tragedy.

Mangione is a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate who was caught after a five-day manhunt; he has been charged with second-degree murder, forgery, and illegal weapons possession. The case has now sparked debates about the healthcare industry and what might have motivated such an extreme act, but Thiel's appearance served as a stark reminder of the dangers of incendiary rhetoric and the responsibility public figures bear in shaping public dialogue.

Instead of using his platform to address the tragedy meaningfully, Thiel's fragmented response seemed to sidestep the gravity of the situation, leaving an impression of deflection rather than leadership. For a man known for his bold opinions and sometimes inflammatory takes, this was one notable failure to rise to the moment.

Video Below: credits to @jimstewartson on X