MAGA Loses Its Mind Over James Comey’s “8647” Instagram Post on Trump

An Instagram post from former FBI Director James Comey has drawn a massive backlash from the right, which is accusing him of calling for Donald Trump’s assassination.

Comey on Thursday posted a picture of seashells arranged on beach sand reading “8647.” He claimed that he came across the shells, already arranged, while taking a walk, and assumed that it was a political message. Conservatives immediately started attacking Comey, a critic of Trump who was fired by the president during his first term.

“Just James Comey casually calling for my dad to be murdered. This is who the Dem-Media worships. Demented!!!!” Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son, wrote on X Thursday, pinning it to the top of his profile.

Far-right influencer Laura Loomer also freaked out in multiple X posts, claiming, “This is a call for the assassination of President Trump by the former FBI Director!” And on Fox News Thursday night, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard called for Comey to be jailed, calling the post concerning in light of Trump surviving “two assassination attempts on his life.”

But how dangerous was Comey’s post? According to Merriam-Webster, the verb “86” can mean “to eject, remove, or dismiss” a person. The “47” in the picture presumably means Trump, the 47th president of the United States. Though some use the term 86 to mean “to kill,” many also use it to simply mean to get rid of something.

Regardless of what Comey meant, conservatives are acting in bad faith when they call for his prosecution. The phrase was also used against Joe Biden, with conservatives selling “8646” merchandise. Trump’s own social media posts have far exceeded Comey’s post, such as his 2024 post of a video showing Biden hog-tied in the back of a pickup truck. All of this is just another case of the right crying wolf.