The White House and other supporters of President Donald Trump responded on Thursday after former FBI Director James Comey posted—and then deleted—a photo on Instagram showing an alignment of seashells in formation to spell out “8647.”
The Context
Trump’s staunch allies, including eldest son Donald Trump Jr., Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, former White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn and several Cabinet officials said the photo appeared to be calling for Trump to be assassinated.
What To Know
The Merriam-Webster dictionary, which the Associated Press follows, defines “86” as a slang term meaning “to throw out,” “to get rid of” or “to refuse service to.”
The dictionary also notes: “Among the most recent senses adopted is a logical extension of the previous ones, with the meaning of ‘to kill.’ We do not enter this sense, due to its relative recency and sparseness of use.”
In the mafia, the term “86” refers to taking someone “eight miles out of town” and putting them “six feet under.”
The White House responded to Comey’s post shortly after it went online, with Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich writing on X, formerly Twitter: “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.”
Budowich added: “It’s worth noting this assassination threat follows President Trump [sic] historic Saudi speech where he declared the demise of the neocons and nation builders.”
He continued: “American leadership has been restored and peace is on the horizon. 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. Democrats must condemn these threats, not stoke them. We will remain vigilant and unafraid. This is deeply concerning to all of us and is being taken seriously.”
AP Photo/Evan Vucci, left, and Andrew Harnik
Comey posted a statement on Instagram after deleting his original post, saying he thought the seashell formation was a “political message,” meaning that they were calling for Trump to be removed from office, rather than assassinated.
“I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence,” the former FBI director added. “It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”
Trump and Comey had a tumultuous relationship, even before Trump first took office in 2017.
Comey, as FBI director, landed in Trump’s crosshairs over his role in informing Trump of the existence of a so-called “dossier”—commissioned by a law firm linked to the Democratic Party—purporting to detail the Trump 2016 campaign’s ties to Russian government officials and other Russian entities.
Comey also infuriated the president when he publicly confirmed that the FBI was investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. election and whether any Trump campaign officials aided in the Kremlin’s efforts to influence the race in Trump’s favor.
Trump’s testy relationship with Comey culminated in the president firing the FBI director in May 2017. The ousting later became a central thread in special counsel Robert Mueller‘s Russia probe.
After he was fired, Comey testified to Congress that Trump attempted to influence the FBI’s investigation, despite the bureau’s design to operate independently. He also publicly criticized Trump, comparing him to a mob boss and accusing him of violating democratic norms and the rule of law.
What People Are Saying
Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., wrote on X: “Just James Comey causally [sic] calling for my dad to be murdered. This is who the Dem-Media worships. Demented!!!!”
Meghan McCain, daughter of the late Republican Senator John McCain, posted on X: “Don’t know how this can be interpreted as any other way but a threat against President Trump. James Comey should at the very least get a visit from the secret service. Also is everyone mentally ill?”
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem wrote 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.”
The X account “Republicans Against Trump” posted: “The same people outraged over Comey’s weird post were totally fine with Trump sharing a video showing an image of Biden tied up in the back of a pickup truck. The hypocrisy couldn’t be more obvious.”
The Bulwark’s media reporter Will Sommer wrote on X: “James Comey’s mistake was not recognizing that, a few months ago, MAGA personalities collectively decided to pretend that ’86’ means ‘assassinate’ and not ‘get rid of’ in a broad sense.”
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said, in part, of Comey’s post on Fox News: “James Comey, in my view, should be held accountable and put behind bars for this.”
What Happens Next
A U.S. Secret Service spokesperson told Newsweek in a statement: “The Secret Service vigorously investigates anything that can be taken as a potential threat against our protectees. We take this responsibility very seriously and we are aware of the social media posts in question. Beyond that, we do not comment on protective intelligence matters.”
Update 5/15/25, 9:38 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information and context.
