A UnitedHealthcare employee who appeared sympathetic to the weekend attempt to assassinate President Donald Trump has been fired, after a furious social media backlash.
The company’s decision and the online reaction risk thrusting America’s largest health insurer into the middle of a national political violence debate for the second time, after its CEO Brian Thompson was murdered 16 months ago.
The clip shows a woman reacting to news of the attempted assassination, which happened Saturday night. She says her initial reaction was to assume the incident was “probably fake,” before adding that her second thought was, “aww, they missed,” followed by a remark that such reactions signaled the country was “cooked.”
“Violence is never acceptable and any comments that suggest otherwise are in no way consistent with our mission and values,” a UnitedHealth Group spokesperson told Newsweek via email Tuesday morning. “The person who made comments online about Saturday night’s incident at a Washington event where President Trump and many other political leaders were gathered is no longer employed by the company.”
The company did not identify the person in its statement.
Social media users had alleged the woman in the clip was Alison King, a UnitedHealthcare employee.
“I have no comment,” King, 29, told Newsweek in a text message early Tuesday.
The Context
The firing comes amid a broader backdrop of heightened political violence and anger toward perceived elites that has repeatedly surfaced in the U.S., including one high-profile slaying directly involving the major health insurer.
In December 2024, UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Brian Thompson was shot dead while walking on a New York City street. Following that shooting, some online users openly celebrated the attack, with the accused gunman, Luigi Mangione, being elevated to the status of a hero in some corners of social media that framed the shooting as an attack on corporate power rather than a crime.
Who is Alison King?
According to X account @LeftismForU, King is of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Screenshots of her social media account suggest she has worked as a social media manager at UnitedHealthcare since July 2025, and held previous roles as a social media specialist at healthcare company Optum, as well as a creative content and social media coordinator at Skol Marketing—a Minneapolis-based digital agency.
Skol Marketing said in a statement that King has not worked with the company in five years.
“We have no association with her and do not condone violence in any form,” the company said.
Newsweek reach out to Optum for comment via email on Tuesday.
An online search showed results for an Alison King associated with UnitedHealthcare on LinkedIn, but the page could not be accessed as of early Tuesday morning.
What Was Said In The Video
In the video, shared by several others, including the influential “Libs of TikTok” social media account on X, the woman says:
“You know we’re cooked as a country when my first reaction to hearing the news about Trump’s [assassination] attempt was—it was probably fake—I was like, ‘oh, that wasn’t real,’ probably fake.
“And the second was ‘aww, they missed? So happy they missed.’ Oh, yeah. That’s sad. That’s when you know we’re cooked.”
The apparent original account was inaccessible on TikTok as of early Tuesday morning. Newsweek reached out to an email listed as King’s in screenshots shared online for comment.
The post attracted heavy criticism from users on X, with some pointing to the 2024 shooting of Thompson.
Utah Senator Mike Lee, a Republican, shared the clip on X.
“I’d love to hear how United Health Care plans to respond to the company’s social media manager mourning the fact that President Trump survived Saturday’s assassination attempt,” he wrote. “@UHC, whats your reaction?”
Other users noted the ties to the previous killing.
“This violent rhetoric is dangerous and has no place in a civil society,” wrote X user @DonaldBauk91470
“Isn’t that the company where the guy was assassinated […]” said @Billford888.
“This is not the company that their CEO got assassinated in the street is it,” wrote @mandmmomm
Several posts on the platform called for the employee to be fired.
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