President Donald Trump‘s victory lap following the death of former FBI head Robert Mueller drew criticisms from Democrats and Republicans alike.
The former special counsel, who investigated possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, died on Friday at the age of 81. Trump celebrated the news, posting to Truth Social that he was “glad” the Purple Heart recipient was dead.
“Robert Mueller just died,” he wrote. “Good, I’m glad he’s dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people!”
Conservative commentators Piers Morgan and Brit Hume were quick to condemn Trump.
“Trump should stay away from his phone when people he doesn’t like die,” Morgan wrote on X.
Hume said that Trump’s post was indicative of a Trump tendency to go too far.
“This is the kind of stuff Trump does that makes people not just oppose him but hate him,” the Fox News analyst wrote. “There was no need to say anything.”
ESPN host Stephen A. Smith called the president’s post “shameful.”
“This is the B.S. I’m talking about. This is a disgusting thing coming from our Commander In Chief — especially about a VETERAN and PURPLE HEART recipient,” he wrote on X.
Congressional Democrats also rushed to criticize Trump’s anti-memorial. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the post was meant to “distract you from rising gas prices, his aimless war, ICE abuses, and the Epstein files.” Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said the post showed Trump’s “unfitness for office.”
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Trump wasn’t without his defenders, however.
Conservative influencer Laura Loomer responded to Smith’s post, saying that Trump’s post-mortem gloating was “totally healthy.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended Trump’s actions on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“It is impossible for either one of us to understand what he has been through,” he said. “I think we should all have a little empathy for what has been done to him and his family.”
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