A line crossed

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NICK EICHER, HOST: Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. 

I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. 

WORLD Opinions editor Albert Mohler is next, with commentary on the weight words carry—especially when the whole world is listening.

ALBERT MOHLER: On Sunday, March 22, President Trump responded to the death of former FBI Director Robert Mueller with these words on Truth Social, “Good. I’m glad he’s dead.” 

Even now it is hard to say those words aloud. Let me be direct: that is a terrible thing to say about the death of another human being, yes, even an enemy, even more a political enemy.

Now, let’s be honest about the context: Donald Trump had reasons to see Robert Mueller as a political enemy. Mueller led the special counsel investigation that cast a long shadow over Donald Trump’s presidency.

Trump is not wrong to remember that conflict. He is not wrong to believe he was treated unjustly, and some around him moved quickly to make exactly that point. 

The day after the Mueller post, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended the president by urging sympathy for what President Trump and his family have endured.

This is from Meet the Press on NBC this weekend:

BESSENT: Given what has been done to President Trump and his family, it is impossible for either of us to understand what he has been through. I think we should all have a little empathy for what has been done to him and his family.

It is not absurd to say Mueller became, in Trump’s mind and political life, a genuine political enemy. It is understandable that there are deep grievances, but that is different than celebrating a man’s death, and that is what matters here.

This is not the first time President Trump has spoken this way about enemies. At the memorial service for Charlie Kirk in September of last year, President Trump contrasted himself with Kirk by saying this:

TRUMP: He did not hate his opponents, he wanted the best for them. That’s where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponent and I don’t want the best for them. I’m sorry, I am sorry, Erika. But now Erika can talk to me and the whole group and maybe they can convince me that that’s not right, but I can’t stand my opponents. Heh-heh. Charlie’s angry, looking down, he’s angry at me now.

Now that line drew laughter, and it was delivered in a half-joking tone, but that is really part of the problem. Some things should not be joked about, especially by the President of the United States.

A few days after those remarks, the White House defended the president in the language of authenticity. 

LEAVITT: The president is authentically himself. I think that’s why millions of Americans across the country love him and support him, including Erika Kirk. 

But authenticity is not a Christian virtue if what comes out is morally disordered. The heart is not vindicated simply because the language is unfiltered.

Indeed, Jesus warned us about exactly that. In Matthew 12, He says, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” 

Then Jesus added words every sane person should hear with trembling: “On the Day of Judgment, people will give account for every careless word they speak.” Every careless word. 

That should stop every one of us cold.

Robert Mueller was not beyond criticism. Of course he was not. He held immense power. He made consequential decisions. He was involved in one of the most bitterly contested episodes in modern American political history. But he was a husband, a father, a grandfather. He was a Marine veteran. He served for decades in public life, and now he has died. 

At moments like this, even the death of a political enemy should call forth restraint, dignity, and a measure of grace.

American presidents have often understood this. They’ve spoken generously at the deaths of political enemies, not because they forgot the conflict, but because death reminds us that politics is not ultimate. 

With Mueller’s death, there is now a grieving family, and there is also the reality that when a president speaks, he does so speaking into the loudest microphone on Earth. This means that his words matter all the more.

This is one of those moments when a leader should rise to the occasion. He should show moral seriousness and acknowledge a human life, speak with decency, and offer sympathy to those left behind. 

That’s not weakness, that’s civilization.

And Christians should be especially clear about this because we know something the world often forgets: every word, every word has moral weight. 

I think about that personally. I do not want to say anything my wife would feel indecent. I do not want to leave behind words my children would have to explain away, and I certainly do not want my grandchildren, years after I am gone, to read something that I said that would shame them.

But beyond all of that, there's a final reckoning. 

Jesus did not say that in the end we’ll have to answer to pundits, partisans, or public opinion. He made clear, we will answer to God.

So even if it would be easier to look away, Christians should not in this case. 

We should take this moment as a bracing reminder. We must guard our tongue. Take responsibility for our words. Speak as those who will answer for what we say. 

And on that Day of Judgment, not even the President of the United States will get a political pass.

That’s good for us to remember. 

For WORLD, I’m Albert Mohler.

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