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U.S. President Donald Trump drew sharp rebukes from Democratic and some Republican officials following his blunt statement on former FBI director Robert Mueller’s death.
Mueller, who served as special counsel in the U.S. Justice Department’s investigation into whether the Trump campaign illegally co-ordinated with Russia to sway the outcome of the 2016 presidential race, died on Friday night. He was 81.
Trump posted Saturday on social media about Mueller minutes after his death was announced.
“Robert Mueller just died. Good, I’m glad he’s dead,” Trump wrote, adding, “He can no longer hurt innocent people!”
The reaction from across the aisle was swift.
“Every day, this president shows his basic indecency and unfitness for office,” Adam Schiff, junior U.S. senator for California, wrote on X hours after the president’s post.
The sentiment was echoed by New York Rep. Dan Goldman, who posted Saturday that Trump “disgustingly celebrates Mueller’s death simply because he exposed Trump’s efforts to steal the 2016 election.”
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer described the remarks as a diversion from ongoing administration scandals, including the war in the Middle East, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) abuses and the Epstein files.
“The cruelty is the point,” Schumer posted on X on Saturday.
Some of the criticism also crossed party lines.
Michael Steele, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, wrote a stinging comment on social media directly to the president:
“@realDonaldTrump you are a vile disgusting man. Petty and pathetic, you are a hypocrite who reeks of weakness and insecurities with no moral core. Regardless of the politics, the American people should be embarrassed and ashamed for ever having entrusted you with leadership.”
WATCH | Robert Mueller, former FBI director, dead at 81:
Robert Mueller, former FBI chief who led Trump inquiry, dead at 81
Robert Mueller, the FBI director who transformed the premier law enforcement agency in the U.S. into a terrorism-fighting force after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and who later became special counsel in charge of investigating ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, has died.
Other Republicans moved to defend Trump’s stance.
Far-right activist Laura Loomer argued in an online post on Saturday that Trump “said what everyone is thinking” about Mueller.
Similarly, Roger Stone, a former advisor to the president, took to X to suggest that Mueller’s ultimate fate would be decided by a divine authority rather than a legal one.
“The judgement of Robert Mueller has moved to a much higher court,” Stone wrote.
