Former FBI Director James Comey is under fire after his very weird Instagram post. He posted a pic that showed the numbers “8647,” which he called a “shell formation.” On Thursday evening, that post led to charges of bias from former President Donald Trump and his supporters. They decry Comey as inciting violence against Trump.
In this case, the name “Eighty-Sixto” is loaded. That can mean anything from denying someone service, to throwing someone out, to dismissing an idea. Some commentators have interpreted this as a call to violence against Trump. They point to his policies being grounded by the near-assassination he endured last summer. Trump’s son and other conservatives have attacked Comey’s sub-par post. In reaction, the Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service have begun a criminal investigation.
Comey couldn’t have anticipated the backlash he faced, but his response was clear. He stressed that he never meant for his post to be interpreted as a threat. He continued, “This morning, I shared a photo of some shells I picked up on my beach walk and said that these might be a political statement. To which he later responded, “I wasn’t aware that some people equate those figures with gun violence.” Articulating his views forcefully, he explains, “Never even thought about it, but I’m against violence in all forms so I deleted the post.”
Yet Trump has been consistent in his denunciation of Comey’s behavior. In an interview with Fox News, he characterized the incident as a “terrible thing” and asserted that it amounted to “calling for the assassination of the president.” Trump also went on to assert that “a child understands what that meant. If you’re the director of the FBI and you didn’t know … that’s what ‘killing’ or ‘assassination’ in codeword …
This extraordinary set of circumstances is made worse by the backdrop of their tumultuous relationship. Having made big headlines by firing Trump’s FBI director Comey in May 2017. Notably it was Trump’s erstwhile boss who’d first appointed him. That uneasy détente between the two has lasted since their very public feud went south.
Trump also indicated that it would be up to Attorney General Pam Bondi to determine the next steps regarding Comey’s controversial post. He expressed disbelief over Comey’s lack of awareness concerning the implications of his words, stating, “Well, he apologized ’cause he was hit.”