Former FBI Director James Comey recently posted a message on the social media platform Instagram showing a group of seashells in the sand forming the numbers "8647." The post caption read "Cool shell formation on my beach walk."
Regarding Comey's "8647 post, in an interview with Brett Baier on Fox News Donald Trump said:
He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant. If you're the FBI director, and you don't know what that meant – that meant assassination, and it says it loud and clear.
Our country's become respected again, and all this, and he's calling for the assassination of the president.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem responded to the post on X:
Disgraced former FBI Director James Comey just called for the assassination of @POTUS Trump. DHS and Secret Service is investigating this threat and will respond appropriately.
Comey later deleted the post and posted a follow-up which reads:
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 some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.
Source:
Mangan, Dan. (May 16, 2025). "Trump says Comey called for 'assassination of the president' with '8647' Instagram post". CNBC. Retrieved 2015-05-21.
Spunt, David; Stimson, Brie; Melugin, Bill; Mears, Bill; Tome, Brian; Japaridze, NuNu. (May 16, 2025). "Former FBI Director James Comey meets with Secret Service after controversial '86 47' post". Fox News. Retrieved 2015-05-21.
Noem, Kristi. (May 15, 2025). "Kristi Noem | X Post". X. Retrieved 2015-05-21.
Comey, James. (May 15, 2025). "James Comey | Instagram Post". Instagram. Retrieved 2015-05-21.
According to the online Merriam-Webster dictionary, "86" is a slang expression that means "to throw out," "to get rid of," or "to refuse service to."
Comey is now under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service.
Source:
Egwuonwu, Nnamdi . (May 15, 2025). "Former FBI Director James Comey under investigation for post seen as a potential threat to Trump's life". NBC News. Retrieved 2015-05-21.
Comey calls seashells post that sparked Trump threats probe a 'distraction' | Axios
Commentary:
As usual, Trump and his MAGA sycophants used this opportunity to blow things way out of proportion, using it as another media talking point to disparage liberals.
It's hard to say for sure just what Comey's intention was with the post, but to conclude that he was putting out an assassination "hit" on Trump is just ridiculous.
I'm sure that Comey understands what "86" means. I think he was making a political statement that Trump must be opposed and rejected, which is a sentiment shared by tens of millions of Americans.
It's also possible Comey was "trolling" Trump and MAGA, just to rile them up and get a response.
What's most interesting is how quickly Trump and MAGA jumped on Comey's perceived threat. How many times has Trump said or done something that could be perceived as a threat (and in some cases actually had real life consequences)? Where were these reactionary Trump supporters then? Why weren't they calling Trump out for doing exactly the same thing they claim Comey did with his post?
This is just another prime example of the never-ending hypocrisy of Trump and MAGA.
Notice that Noem's post referred to Comey as "disgraced." Who does this kind of language remind you of? Yes, this is exactly the kind of language Trump uses all the time when he is disparaging his perceived political enemies.
With Trump, now Noem, and most likely countless other Trump sycophants, it's no longer enough to just refer to someone by name. Now, it's common practice, and socially accepted among MAGA Trump supporters to add several disparaging adjectives in an attempt to vilify them and paint them as really bad people.
This kind of language represents a breakdown of respect and common decency in our society, and that breakdown extends beyond politics. Because he is the president, Trump is a role model, like it or not, and the things he says and the way he says them become "normalized" over time.
After nearly a decade of Trump, we are now at a point where this type of language is commonplace. It's not a good thing, and it all started with Trump.