Updated May 16, 2025 - Politics & Policy

Trump says Comey "meant assassination" with 8647 post

April Rubin

Trump and Comey shake hands — President Trump shakes hands with former FBI director James Comey in January 2017. Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

President Trump on Friday accused former FBI director James Comey of calling for his assassination in a social media post with a photo of "8647" written by seashells in the sand.

Why it matters: The Trump administration and the president's MAGA allies online seized on the post as evidence Comey was advocating for political violence. Comey has since deleted the post and said the "political message" was not intended as a call for violence.

"He's calling for the assassination of the president," Trump said during a Fox News interview on Friday.
The president's comments come a day after his administration said it was investigating the matter as a threat.

Zoom in: "A child knows what that meant," he said. "If you're the FBI director and you don't know what that meant, that meant assassination, and it says it loud and clear."

"Now, he wasn't very competent but he was competent enough to know what that meant, and he did it for a reason."
Calling Comey a "dirty cop," Trump said the next steps are up to Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Catch up quick: "8647" has circulated online and at some demonstrations as a silent protest of Trump.

86 is a slang term generally meaning to nix or get rid of, and 47 references Trump, the 47th president.

Flashback: MAGA podcaster Jack Posobiec tweeted "86 46" about then-President Biden in 2022.

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Trump says Comey "meant assassination" with 8647 post

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