Conservatives are being criticized for previously defending the “86 46” slogan as a call for President Biden’s impeachment, while simultaneously accusing former FBI Director James Comey of calling for President Donald Trump’s assassination after he posted an “86 47” image in a since-deleted Instagram post.
On Thursday, Comey posted a photo of seashells arranged to read “86 47,” leading to significant backlash after MAGA supporters claimed he was calling for Trump’s assassination. The former FBI director apologized in a follow-up social media post, adding that he assumed it was a political message but “didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence.”
During a Fox News Special Report with Bret Baier, the president claimed Comey, who served from 2013 until he was fired during Trump’s first term in 2017, “knew exactly” what the message meant.
“He did it for a reason, and he was hit so hard because people like me, and they like what’s happening with our country,” Trump continued. “Our country’s become respected again and all this, and he’s calling for the assassination of the president.”
Social media users were quick to point out what they viewed as hypocrisy from the right, noting that “86 46” was a widely used slogan among conservatives during Biden’s presidency.
“MAGA Logic: 8646 = Impeach Biden. 8647 = kill Trump,” an X user noted, with screenshots of “86 46” merch across Amazon and Etsy.
“Listen up, chucklef***s. Comey, in my opinion, is a piece of s***. His dumb post was childish, immature, and stupid. He deserves all the ridicule you can heap on him, but I can find plenty of shirts that have 86 46 on them, and none of those were calls for assassination, so stop being f*****g hypocritical,” another user wrote.
“But MAGA said 86 means impeach. It’s all so confusing,” Ron Filipkowski, a former state and federal prosecutor, flippantly added.
“Oh, so all of these MAGA shops that made 86 46 shirts, hats, stickers, etc. wanted to kill Joe Biden?” Chris D. Jackson, a D.C. strategist, questioned.
“Please do him too @JackPosobiec,” another X user shared in response to political strategist Jack Posobiec calling for Comey’s arrest despite Posobiec sharing an “86 46” post in January 2022.
A spokesperson for the Secret Service, part of the Department of Homeland Security, said the agency “vigorously investigates anything that can be taken as a potential threat against our protectees.”
“We are aware of the social media posts by the former FBI director and we take rhetoric like this very seriously. Beyond that, we do not comment on protective intelligence matters,” the statement read, according to CNN.
Donald Trump Jr. shared an X post in which he claimed James Comey was “causally calling for my dad to be murdered.”
“This is who the Dem-Media worships. Demented!!!!!” he added, with a screenshot of Comey’s post attached.
Originally published on Latin Times
