Former FBI Director Jim Comey created a firestorm with his post about the shells he found on the beach that formed the message “86 47.” Many interpreted that as a threat against the life of President Donald Trump, given the commonly-understood meaning of the term 86 — meaning to kill or get rid of someone — and “47” being a reference to the 47th president.
Indeed, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer got into some trouble when she gave an interview to “Meet the Press” in 2020 as the national campaign co-chair for Joe Biden to speak against Trump, and people caught sight of an “86 45” behind her in the shot. So it wasn’t even the first time the term or the controversy over it hit the news.
Comey ultimately took down the post. But he also claimed he didn’t know what the term meant, that he didn’t realize it could be interpreted as anything violent. That seems…
