Did Former FBI Director Just Call for Assassination of President Trump?

President Trump slammed his former FBI director, James Comey, for posting a coded photo that he said called for his assassination.

“He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant … That meant ‘assassination,’” Trump said in an interview with Bret Baier on Friday.

Comey had posted a picture Thursday of seashells formed in the shape of “86 47” — a message that could be interpreted as “eliminating” him, since he’s the 47th president.

“Cool shell formation on my beach walk,” Comey had captioned the photo on Instagram.

Comey’s alleged “threat” is being investigated, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.

“He’s calling for the assassination of the president,” Trump said after the Comey photo drew major backlash from the president’s allies.

“He’s a dirty cop,” Trump said of Comey — adding that Comey’s fate will be decided by Attorney General Pam Bondi, but that he thinks there should be no leniency.

“This is deeply concerning to all of us and is being taken seriously,” Trump deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich wrote on X.

Don Jr., the president’s son, wrote, “Just James Comey casually calling for my dad to be murdered. This is who the Dem-Media worships. Demented!!!!”

Comey subsequently deleted the picture, saying he didn’t understand what the message meant in its entirety.

“I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message. I didn’t realize folks associate those numbers with violence,” Comey wrote on Instagram.

“It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”

On Saturday, May 17, current FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino issued a sharp and public condemnation of the Comey, Saturday, accusing his predecessor of disgracing the agency as authorities investigate Comey’s controversial Instagram post.

In a statement posted to X, Bongino said Comey’s actions are another example of failed leadership that continues to haunt the agency.

“Former FBI Director James Comey brought shame to the FBI badge, yet again, this past week,” Bongino wrote. “The Director and I spend an inordinate amount of time cleaning up messes left behind by former Director Comey. And his latest actions are no exception.”

The president survived two back-to-back attempts on his life in 2024. He was first shot at during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, by 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks. The bullet narrowly missed the president’s head but grazed his ear, leaving him bloody. 

The president was then targeted in September on his golf course in Palm Beach after Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, waited over 12 hours in the bushes scoping out Trump’s route with a gun in hand. Routh fled after Secret Service agents fired at him, but was later arrested and is awaiting trial in Florida.