President Trump slammed his former FBI director, James Comey, for posting a coded photo that he said called for his assassination.
Comey had posted a picture on Thursday, May 15, of seashells formed in the shape of “86 47”.
“Cool shell formation on my beach walk,” Comey had captioned the photo on Instagram.
However, the message could be interpreted as “eliminating” Trump, since he’s the 47th president.
One Webster’s Dictionary definition of “eighty-six” says the term means “to get rid of.” In the restaurant and bar industry, the phrase is used to indicate to staff that a menu item has run out, or that a customer is banned.
“He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant … That meant ‘assassination,’” Donald Trump said in an interview with Bret Baier on Friday, May 16.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem promptly said the “threat” was being investigated by DHS and the Secret Service.
“He’s calling for the assassination of the president,” Trump said after the Comey photo drew major backlash from the president’s allies.
“He’s a dirty cop,” Trump said of Comey — adding that Comey’s fate will be decided by Attorney General Pam Bondi, but that he thinks there should be no leniency.
“This is deeply concerning to all of us and is being taken seriously,” Trump deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich wrote on X.
Don Jr., the president’s son, wrote, “Just James Comey casually calling for my dad to be murdered. This is who the Dem-Media worships. Demented!!!!”
Comey subsequently deleted the picture, saying he didn’t understand what the message meant in its entirety.
“I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message. I didn’t realize folks associate those numbers with violence,” Comey wrote on Instagram.
“It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”
