Trump calls former FBI director James Comey a 'dirty cop,' after outrage over '8647' post

President Donald Trump, who survived two assassination attempts last year, said former FBI Director James Comey knew “exactly” what he was doing when he shared a social media post.

Comey’s post has been interpreted as a call to assassinate Trump by supporters and some government officials, including Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s director of national intelligence.

Comey, who is currently being investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, shared a picture on Instagram on May 15 with the number “8647” fashioned out of seashells on a beach, with a caption: "Cool shell formation on my beach walk."

“A child knows what that meant,” said Trump in an interview with FOX News Channel’s Special Report with Bret Baier, which aired on May 16. “That meant assassination.”

In U.S. slang, the number 86 can be used as a verb as in to remove someone from a bar for unruly behavior, or to reject someone, and 47 could signify Trump, the 47th president, according to Merriam-Webster.

Comey, who was fired by Trump in 2017, later deleted the post, saying he thought it was a political message.

Trump said he did not buy his explanation.

“He wasn't very competent, but he was competent enough to know what that meant,” said Trump. “And he did it for a reason.”

Comey was leading the FBI investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election when Trump fired him in May 2017. Comey later backed Biden’s presidential bid in 2020 and former Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential bid in 2024.

“And when you add his history to that,” said Trump. “He’s a dirty cop.”

Asked if Comey should be in jail, Trump demurred and said he would let U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi handle the decision.

"We vigorously investigate anything that can be taken as a potential threat against our protectees,” U.S. Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a post on X.

Last July, Trump was the target of a 20-year-old gunman at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. A bullet struck and injured the upper part of his right ear. Days later, Trump wore a large white bandage on his ear while attending the Republican National Convention to accept his party's presidential nomination.

A Secret Service agent helped stop a second assassination attempt by spotting a man with a rifle hiding in shrubbery near Trump's golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida.