Disgraced former FBI Director James Comey appeared Thursday to try to incite violence against President Donald Trump in an Instagram post.
Comey posted a photo of neatly placed seashells that showed the numbers “86 47” with the caption “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.” The number “86” is slang for getting rid of something or eradicating it, according to Urban Dictionary, while “47” in this context, refers to the 47th president, Trump.
The apparent incitement of violence was met with immediate backlash. White House deputy chief of staff and Cabinet Secretary Taylor Budowich said the post was “deeply concerning.”
“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 messaged etched in the sand. This is deeply concerning to all of us and is being taken seriously.”
Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville said in a post on X: “This is a direct THREAT against President Trump, who has already survived two assassination attempts. BEYOND despicable. James Comey MUST face consequences.”
FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency was “aware of the recent social media post” by Comey and was “in communication with the Secret Service and Director Curran. Primary jurisdiction is with SS on these matters and we, the FBI, will provide all necessary support.”
Following the wave of criticism, Comey deleted the post and issued a message explaining his decision to remove the original post.
“I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message,” Comey wrote. “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.”
But as Trump later told Fox News, Comey “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.”
Comey’s apparent call for political violence comes less than a year after Trump narrowly survived the first assassination attempt that took place on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. Corey Comperatore, a father and firefighter, was tragically killed during the assassination attempt while shielding his wife and daughter.
Trump was nearly the victim of a second assassination attempt just weeks later when a deranged man was spotted camping in the bushes near Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course with a rifle and scope.
Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2
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