Even in Death, Trump Treats Opponents as Enemies
Despite having all the power in the world, the President mocks the death of an American public servant. It's yet another sign of his dehumanizing politics.
Robert Mueller, the former FBI director and special counsel in the Russia investigation, has died.1 Just a day after Mueller’s family announced his passing, President Trump decided to celebrate his death.2 The display of crass hatred is part of a larger pattern of reckless and cruel conduct that would damage most presidents’ careers, but this is who Donald Trump is. This is who leads us now.
What Did He Say?
On his platform, Truth Social, Donald Trump announced Mueller’s death in the most absurd way possible, posting: “Robert Mueller just died. Good, I’m glad he’s dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people!” Celebrating a person’s death is unacceptable, especially when the death is so fresh in the minds of family members and loved ones who have just lost someone dear to them.
Despite this, the President of the United States openly and publicly mocked Mueller with no condolences for his family. There was no attempt at human empathy, no display of concern or care for what this death meant to the Muellers or the country.
This is not the rhetoric of a President— or even a responsible citizen. It is the rhetoric of a petty, reckless man who sees any opposition—no matter how minor that opposition is—as inherently illegitimate and undesirable. It is that same zero-sum thinking that has been guiding Trump, both in his first term and in his current administration.
Cruelty is the Point
Since Donald Trump first came down the escalator in 2015, his politics have been unabashedly dehumanizing. He started his campaign by saying, “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best…They’re not sending you…They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.”3
The dehumanization of people, regardless of accuracy, was always part of the Trump brand. It’s why he insists on pointing to critics of ICE raids as threats and criminals.4 It is why he calls Democrats and Americans on the left “the greatest enemy America has…” This is dangerous.
That rhetoric is not healthy for a republic, and it only further incentivizes violence. There can be disagreements among partisan actors, differences of opinion on the Mueller report, but when someone’s very existence is seen as illegitimate, peaceful discourse becomes harder to maintain. If America is to heal and to grow beyond this authoritarian era, this kind of rhetoric must be rejected entirely.
Democrats and Americans across the board must force every Republican politician to answer for this rhetoric. Our country deserves better than this. We deserve better than this. Anything less is a failure.
Tim Weiner, “Robert Mueller, Former FBI Director Who Led Trump Inquiry, Dies at 81,” The New York Times, March 21, 2026. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/21/us/politics/robert-s-mueller-dead.html.
Donald Trump, “Robert Mueller just died. Good, I’m glad he’s dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people! President DONALD J. Trump,” Truth Social, March 21, 2026. https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/116268334535345382.
“Trump Says Mexico Sending ‘rapists’ across Border; He’d Make Country Pay for Border Wall,” Fox News, June 16, 2015 https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-says-mexico-sending-rapists-across-border-hed-make-country-pay-for-border-wall.
Monica Torres, “The Most Common Dehumanizing Immigrant Trope That Trump Is Empowering Others To Use” Huffpost, April 11, 2025. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-invasion-immigrant-language_l_67f7eca6e4b09493c8d8702f.