WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is investigating James Comey, the former FBI director who was fired by President Donald Trump in his first term, for a social media post that officials claim amounted to a call for Trump’s assassination, members of the president’s Cabinet said Thursday evening.

The Instagram post, which Comey later took down and said was not meant as a call for violence, showed seashells on a beach forming the numbers “86 47,” a phrase used by critics of the president online, at protests and on signs and clothing. “Eighty-six,” according to Merriam-Webster, is an old slang term meaning to dismiss or remove, and Trump is the 47th president.

The phrase has not previously been described by officials in the current administration as threatening to Trump, but soon after Comey made the post Thursday, Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, asserted that the former FBI director had “called for the assassination” of Trump and that “DHS and Secret Service is investigating this threat and will respond appropriately.”

Trump Administration Officials Respond with Strong Accusations

Other high-level Trump administration officials soon chimed in to denounce Comey’s post, which he had already removed and replaced with a new message that he “didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence.” Kash Patel, the current FBI director, announced that his agency would “support the investigation” by the Secret Service, and Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, appeared on Fox News hours later and said that Comey should be jailed.

“James Comey, in my view, should be held accountable and put behind bars,” Gabbard said in an interview with Jesse Watters.

Historical Context of ’86’ Terminology in Politics

Critics calling for the president to be “86’d” goes back at least to Trump’s first term. Weeks before the 2020 election, Trump’s reelection campaign seized on a pin that said “86 45” that could be seen on a table behind Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan during a TV interview. Asserting that “86 can be shorthand for killing someone,” the Trump campaign accused Whitmer of “encouraging assassination attempts against President Trump.”

Similar Political Symbolism Used Against Other Presidents

After President Joe Biden took office, clothing and signs with “86 46,” referring to Biden, soon began to appear and continue to be sold online. During the 2024 campaign, Trump posted a video featuring an image of Biden hog-tied on the back of a truck, imagery that had spread among Trump’s followers. Trump had frequently featured violent imagery on his social media accounts during the campaign.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Chris Cameron/Jared Soares
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