MAGA allies melted down Thursday afternoon over former FBI Director Jim Comey's beach photo referencing President Donald Trump.
Comey posted on Instagram a photo of shells on a sandy beach that spell out "86 47." He captioned the photo, "Cool shell formation on my beach walk."
The number 86 has a long history of being used as slang or military shorthand. In the U.S. military, Article 86 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice refers to being absent without leave. In some industries, the number is also used as slang for nix or eliminate.
Comey has been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, once saying he saw Trump as "morally unfit" to serve as commander-in-chief.
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"A person who sees moral equivalence in Charlottesville, who talks about and treats women like they're pieces of meat, who lies constantly about matters big and small and insists the American people believe it, that person's not fit to be president of the United States," he told George Stephanopoulos in 2018.
Comey later deleted the photo, and issued a statement on Instagram saying, "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 some folks associated those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down."
But MAGA allies had a full-on meltdown over the post.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) railed on X, "How many times are Democrats going to try to assassinate President Trump???"
Donald Trump Jr. wrote on X, "Just James Comey causally calling for my dad to be murdered. This is who the Dem-Media worships. Demented!!!!"
Right-wing podcaster Laura Loomer wrote on X, "WOW! Former FBI Director James Comey @Comey just posted this on his Instagram 2 hours ago, with the caption 'cool shell formation on my beach walk'. It’s a pic of shells in the form of '86 47'. This is a call for the assassination of President Trump by the former FBI Director!"
"BREAKING - Former FBI Director James Comey, appointed by Obama, posted an image on Instagram showing seashells arranged in the formation “86 47,” clearly referencing the elimination of the 47th president. ATTENTION: KASH" wrote the Facebook account "Donald Trump For President."
T. Becket Adams, a columnist at The Hill, called Comey a "gigantic weirdo," and said "everything he did as FBI director should be put under review."
He added: "Rearranging seashells to obsess over your old boss from a job you lost eight years ago, and all while on a beach vacation, is gayer than anything Edgar Hoover ever did."
Adams concluded, "The man is Gen. Michael Flynn-levels of bats---, and we're all not supposed to notice?"
Billy Binion, reporter at the monthly magazine Reason, wrote on X, "Never forget that James Comey prosecuted Martha Stewart for lying about insider trading—which the FBI didn’t even allege she’d committed. He’s been engaging in fed clownery for decades. Sad to see."
Just James Comey causally calling for my dad to be murdered.
This is who the Dem-Media worships. Demented!!!! pic.twitter.com/4LUK6crHAT
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) May 15, 2025