President Donald Trump joined the MAGA tirade against James Comey over his so-called “assassination message,” labeling the former FBI director a “dirty cop.”
Comey sent Trump supporters into a tailspin Thursday night after he posted a photo on Instagram showing seashells arranged on a beach to form the numbers 86 and 47.
Some commentators, including Trump, took it to mean toss out, or kill, the 47th president. In an interview with Fox News anchor Bret Baier, Trump said Comey knew exactly what he was doing—despite his assertion that it was an innocent shell formation.
“He knew what that meant. A child knows what that meant,” Trump said. “If you’re FBI director and don’t know what that meant, that meant assassination and it says it loud and clear.
“He wasn’t very competent but competent enough to know what that meant. He did it for a reason and he was hit so hard because people like, they like what was happening with our country, the country has become respected again and he is calling for the assassination of the president.”
Baier brought up Comey’s apology. “I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message,” Comey, whom Trump fired in 2017, said after deleting the snap.
“I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me but l oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”
Trump said the former FBI director “apologized because he was hit.”
While President Trump is currently on an international trip to the Middle East, the former FBI Director puts out what can clearly be interpreted as “a hit” on the sitting President of the United States—a message etched in the sand.This is deeply concerning to all of us and is… pic.twitter.com/RF0Dl3t1JF
— Taylor Budowich (@Taylor47) May 15, 2025
Baier asked what the president would like to see happen as a consequence of the post. He said he’s leaving that up to his lieutenants.
“I don’t want to take a position on it, it will be up to [Attorney General] Pam [Bondi] and all the great people,” Trump said. “I will say, I think it is a terrible thing.
“When you add his history to that, if he had a clean history, he doesn’t, he’s a dirty cop. If he had a clean history, I could understand if there was leniency, I will let them make that decision.”
In service industry parlance, “86” is widely understood to mean “to toss out” or “to get rid of.”
Following two assassination attempts on President Donald Trump in 2024, the phrase has taken on a darker meaning to the MAGA movement.
Taylor Budowich, White House deputy chief of staff, said in an X post that the post from Comey was “disturbing.”
“This is deeply concerning to all of us and is being taken seriously,” he said.
“American leadership has been restored and peace is on the horizon,” Budowich added in another post.
“This has left the Deep State desperate and dangerous—Comey is only the latest and most disturbing example of them lashing out through threats of violence.”
Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said the agency was looking into the matter.
In 2017, Trump rocked Washington by sacking Comey as he was leading an investigation into allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
A year later, after Comey published a memoir that delved into his relationship with Trump, the president dismissed him as a “proven leaker and liar.”
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