On June 30, the family of Donald Rumsfeld — former two-time secretary of defense and life-long public servant — announced his passing in a statement posted to Twitter.
“History may remember him for his extraordinary accomplishments over six decades of public service, but for those who knew him best and whose lives were forever changed as a result, we will remember his unwavering love for his wife Joyce, his family and friends, and the integrity he brought to a life dedicated to country,” his family noted. As usual, Rumsfeld's passing prompted the unhinged Left to react with its typical distasteful rhetoric and blue-check leftists flocked to Twitter to attack the late secretary of defense.
If there is a hell, it was made for people like Donald Rumsfeld. The only thing sad about his death is the fact none of the Iraqi victims whose deaths he cared little for or their families saw him or other Bush-era war criminals brought to justice. I hope you never rest.
— Kareem Shaheen (@kshaheen) July 1, 2021
To hell with Donald Rumsfeld. Cheers! pic.twitter.com/c06yfQ6NFw
— Shane Hazel (@ShaneTHazel) July 1, 2021
If you think this heat wave is bad, you should see how badly Donald Rumsfeld is sweating in Hell.
— Palmer Report (@PalmerReport) July 1, 2021
Donald Rumsfeld in hell looking up at all this chaos breaking out on earth: pic.twitter.com/3pZtRFNQ33
— Eric Haywood (@EricHaywood) July 1, 2021
“So you’re happy another human being is dead?!”
— Ð?nn?s Ð?tw?ll?? (@drgonzo123) June 30, 2021
????. I’m happy Donald Rumsfeld is dead.
Happy pride month, Donald Rumsfeld is dead
— Mike Huguenor (@mikehuguenor) June 30, 2021
Accused war criminal and torture defender dead at 88 https://t.co/AIE7ES6B04
— Teen Vogue (@TeenVogue) June 30, 2021
Unsurprisingly, not one tweet mentions his lengthy career in public service, from his years serving in the U.S. Navy to his time in Congress to his work spearheading his own nonprofit.
Rumsfeld, a Chicago native, entered politics in 1962 as a Congressman for Illinois’ 13th Congressional District where he was re-elected three times. During his years on Capitol Hill, he was a leading co-sponsor of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which was enacted in 1966.
In 1969, Rumsfeld was appointed to cabinet-level status as director of the Office of Economic Opportunity under President Richard Nixon and later appointed as counselor to the president and director of the Economic Stabilization Program. In 1973, Rumsfeld left Washington, D.C. to serve as U.S. Ambassador to NATO in Belgium. He returned to Washington D.C. in 1974 during President Gerald Ford’s presidency as chief of staff and later secretary of defense.
From 1977 onward, Rumsfeld’s career path steered away from politics. He officially returned in 2001 as he was sworn in as President George W. Bush’s secretary of defense. He played an integral role in the invasion of Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq following 9/11. He resigned from this position in 2006.
In 2007, Rumsfeld founded The Rumsfeld Foundation, an organization that “encourages leadership, public service and free political and economic systems at home and abroad,” according to its website. Throughout his retirement, Rumsfeld also penned several books; “Known and Unknown: a Memoir,” “Rumsfeld's Rules: Leadership Lessons in Business, Politics, War, and Life,” and “When the Center Held: Gerald Ford and the Rescue of the American Presidency.”
It is reported that he passed away from multiple myeloma, a form of cancer.