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The legacy media weaponized a tasteless joke to torpedo Donald Trump’s presidential race.

It failed, but not for lack of trying.

Rebel comic Tony Hinchcliffe uncorked a brutal quip directed at Puerto Rico at Trump’s Madison Square Garden Oct 7 rally. The New York Times’ coverage proved typical of the media’s relentless narrative.

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What corrupt reporters downplayed, for obvious reasons, was the crowd’s reaction to the joke. It bombed.

Turns out MAGA nation sensed a tacky quip when they heard it. Even Hinchcliffe admitted it.

“OK, all right. We’re getting there. Normally I don’t follow the National Anthem,” Hinchcliffe said, backpedaling in real time.

Now, compare that to the Left’s reaction to the man who allegedly killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Luigi Mangione has killer abs, a broad smile and a vendetta against the U.S. healthcare system. Progressive politicians like Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were among several who criticized the killing, only to add “But …” to their statements.

Chances are a MAGA rally wouldn’t cheer Mangione’s name in any setting, but liberal late-night TV watchers have had a similar reaction to some progressive politicians.

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Earlier this month, Jon Stewart of “The Daily Show” alerted his audience that Mangione had been captured after a brief manhunt.

The crowd’s reaction? Boos.

“Look, I’m sorry, guys,” Stewart said without missing a beat. Did he know something we didn’t? Was he truly “sorry” that an alleged killer had been corralled?

Where was his patented outrage shtick? In his other sports coat?

Over at “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” the host shared his colleagues’ lust for Mangione despite his alleged crime. Turns out “Kimmel” female staffers dig his abs without caring about what he’s accused of doing – killing a father and husband in cold blood.

Another show might have scrapped the bit, unwilling to embarrass its staffers publicly. Not “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

The bit aired with a few chuckles from the same host who cried on camera over Donald Trump’s Nov. 5 victory.

Priorities.

The best coal-black humor makes a salient point. This shtick proved gross and all-too-revealing.

And then there’s “Saturday Night Live.” The show renowned for its hard-Left bias mentioned Mangione during the most recent episode. He’s in the news, so the topic was fair game.

The response was, sadly, predictable.

“Weekend Update” co-anchor Colin Jost heard what The New York Post called “raucous cheers” erupting after he name-checked the alleged murderer.

Jost seemed to be surprised by the response, glancing offstage and awkwardly smiling while sarcastically quipping to the audience, “Yeah, definitely ‘woo,’ ” and rhetorically asking, “You’re ‘wooing’ for justice, right?”

Not exactly. Try vigilante justice of the worst kind.

If this had happened once or even twice it could be written off. Three times? On three different hard-Left showcases? Writing it off would be a mistake.

Why are late-night TV audiences cheering on Mangione?  It’s a complex constellation of reasons, from the Left’s embrace of political violence to our increasingly divided age.

One possible culprit? Late-Night TV.

These propaganda shows have been dehumanizing their political opponents for years. Trump is Hitler … and his fans are just as bad.

Here’s “SNL” literally saying that in a sketch that aired during Trump’s first presidential campaign.

“Conan” invited comic Sarah Silverman to goosestep across the stage as Adolf Hitler, purportedly tying him to Trump in her comic worldview.

The late-night audience doesn’t look at Thompson and see someone with a family that will miss him dearly. They see an ideological foe unworthy of empathy. And, yes, most Americans have been negatively impacted by the current healthcare system, from denied claims to far worse results.

The status quo is maddening at times, and few politicians are offering solid alternatives or solutions. That’s on them and, by extension, us.

Killing a prominent healthcare CEO is the worst way to address the issue.

Tell that to Mangione’s fan base. To them, he’s the hero of this story, not someone accused of an assassination.

RELATED: LATE-NIGHT COMICS COMPARE TRUMP TO A MURDERER

These late-night comics might want to reconsider the material they share across the media landscape. Why are their fans inclined to cheer for an alleged murderer? Why are liberals so eager to turn a potential monster into a hero?

Did they play a role in this attitude shift? Even more important?

Maybe it’s well past time for them to tackle the Mangione fans head on with humor and sharp observations. They’re political satirists, after all. What better way to address that warped ideology than jokes skewering those who deify murderers?

The Babylon Bee already took a hard swing at the problem.

They’ve got experienced writers on staff who should be up to the task, no? Or, perhaps the shows’ staffers are like Team Kimmel, unwilling to target Mangione for what he purportedly did. They’d rather tell another toothless Orange Man Bad quip than use their platforms for something resembling good.

Editor’s Note: It’s a brutal time to be an independent journalist, but it’s never been more necessary given the sorry state of the corporate press. If you’re enjoying Hollywood in Toto, I hope you’ll consider leaving a coin (or two) in our Tip Jar.