🧵 Former FBI Director Jim Comey posted a cryptic message that—as far as I can tell—can be read only to mean “kill…

🧵 Former FBI Director Jim Comey posted a cryptic message that—as far as I can tell—can be read only to mean “kill Trump” I’m speechless Literally speechless 1/

Eric Schmitt@Eric_Schmitt · May 15, 2025

Just the former director of the FBI calling for the assassination of our President. Every single Democrat should denounce this but sadly their media allies won’t even ask them about it.

I first met Jim Comey 22 years ago when I was an assistant U.S. attorney in Salt Lake City 2/

Mr. Comey paid a visit to the U.S. attorney’s office in Utah in response to an invitation from my former boss (and longtime friend and mentor), then-U.S. Attorney Paul Warner 3/

At the time of his visit to Utah, Mr. Comey had recently been named as Deputy Attorney General—the #2 position in the U.S. Department of Justice—under President George W. Bush, having previously served as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York 4/

I didn’t know anything about him prior to his visit, but then-Deputy Attorney General Comey gave a phenomenal presentation to our office that my colleagues and I found not only interesting and informative, but downright inspiring 5/

Mr. Comey encouraged us not to be discouraged by the gruesome, ugly issues that prosecutors often confront, explaining that it’s important in such jobs to “love someone”—one’s spouse, children, or otherwise—to stay grounded & remember all that’s good & worth defending in life 6/

Mr. Comey also told us that, even while serving as Deputy Attorney General, he still thought of himself as an assistant U.S. attorney—and that if awakened in the middle of the night and asked what he did for a living, he’d reflexively identify himself as such 7/

My colleagues and I left that meeting feeling uplifted and inspired by Jim Comey’s words—and sincerely grateful for the chance to work for the U.S. Department of Justice 8/

By the time Jim Comey was nominated by President Obama to become the FBI director, I had become a member of the U.S. Senate, where I serve on the Judiciary Committee—the committee that oversees the Department of Justice and FBI 9/

Although I strongly disagreed with many of Jim Comey’s actions as FBI director (some of which I found baffling), never in million years did I imagine that he would one day post an encoded “kill Trump”message—referring the sitting president of the United States—on social media 10/

I’d love to believe that Jim Comey didn’t post that—that someone was impersonating him, that he didn’t fully understand what he was saying, or that “8647” in this context had some other, less-threatening meaning But as far as I can tell, this was his post, he hasn’t disavowed it, and it means exactly what it appears to mean 11/

If you disagree with the president of the United States—or anyone else for that matter—that is your right But it is not your right to physically threaten him or encourage his assassination With good reason, such things must be taken very seriously 12/

The above-referenced post from Jim Comey hits too close to home—and occurs too soon after two serious, nearly successful assassination attempts have been made on *this* president’s life—to be dismissed as a joke or harmless hyperbole, especially from the former FBI director 13/

I urge all within the sound of my voice—whether you like our current president or not—to avoid and discourage the use of signaling that some could far too eagerly accept as an invitation for yet another assassination attempt on the life of the president of the United States 14/