James Comey admits Trump is a ‘bad person’ -- but says impeachment acquittal is fine

The former director of the FBI downplayed the significance of Senate Republicans blocking impeachment trial witnesses as they march towards their goal of acquitting President Donald Trump.

Comey, 59, argued that things were a lot worse in his childhood when he was growing up in Yonkers, New York.

"When I was a little kid, the United States seemed to be coming apart," he wrote in a Washington Postcolumn. "There is a natural human tendency to think we live in the hardest times, that our challenges are uniquely difficult."

"Understandably, millions of Americans today see darkness. Our president is a bad person and an incompetent leader. He lies constantly, stokes flames of racial division, tries to obstruct justice and represents much of what our Founders feared about a self-interested demagogue," Comey acknowledged.

But his message was not that different than Mick Mulvaney, who famously lectured Americans to "get over" Trump's corruption.

"The House impeached the president, and though the Senate will likely acquit, the American people can witness the whole thing. The free press fostered and protected by the genius of the First Amendment has let Americans know the truth, if they wish to," Comey argued, despite harsh press restrictions imposed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

"In November, Americans, fully informed, will have the chance to decide what kind of country we are and what we expect of our leaders," he argued, despite the fact House prosecutors charged that voters would not be fully informed with a fair Senate trial including witnesses and evidence.

"I don’t buy the stuff about the United States’ democracy dying," Comey continued, ignoring that Trump was impeached for attempting to cheat in the 2020 presidential election.

"When I was a kid, the United States didn’t come apart. It won’t now," he predicted, seemingly ignoring climate change.