Trump is famous for his “You’re fired” catchphrase, but when it comes to actually firing someone, he’s shown nothing but cowardice. His inability to face the person he’s about to get rid of led to an incredibly humiliating moment for James Comey.
Standing in front of an audience of FBI employees, Comey was reportedly mid-speech when phones began lighting up and the televisions dialed into cable news in the background broke the news that Comey should have been the first to hear: Donald Trump just fired you.
According to the New York Times, the moment was understandably sheer chaos in the room:
Mr. Comey, who is three years into a 10-year term at the helm of the F.B.I., learned from news reports that he had been fired while addressing bureau employees in Los Angeles. While Mr. Comey spoke, television screens in the background began flashing the news that he had been fired. Shortly thereafter, a letter was delivered to the F.B.I.’s headquarters in Washington.
The sheer lack of professionalism was so inconceivable that Comey laughed when he saw it and told the crowd that it was a great prank they just pulled.
In response, Mr. Comey laughed, saying he thought it was a fairly funny prank.
Then his staff started scurrying around in the background and told Mr. Comey that he should step into a nearby office.
Nobody at the FBI was reportedly told ahead of time that their boss was about to be terminated. People are freaking out – even those within the White House.
Another administration official described that the decision—which caught FBI officials and top lawmakers completely off-guard on Tuesday—was “kept very close to the chest” within Trump’s inner political circle up until the moment “[we] were ready to pull the trigger” on axing Comey.
Adding insult to injury, Trump’s abrupt firing of Comey leaves the now former FBI director stranded in Los Angeles.
Legitimate question about how Comey will get home from LA. He’s there with FBI plane. Does Trump allow him to fly home on it?
— Michael S. Schmidt (@nytmike) May 9, 2017
Trump himself appears to have ordered his Attorney General to start finding reasons to fire Comey “at least a week ago” – around the same time Trump went on Twitter to suggest Comey was in the tank for Hillary.
Sessions was ordered to find a reason to fire Sessions a week ago. This is what Trump was tweeting a week ago pic.twitter.com/uiOHsOR4WD
— Don Moynihan (@donmoyn) May 9, 2017
In his letter to Comey, Trump says he couldn’t allow him to continue as FBI director and implied it was due to his refusal to publicly state that there was no investigation into Trump’s connection to Russia. (Note: Testifying to that would have required Comey to perjure himself because there is an on-going investigation into Trump’s connection to Russia.)
In short: The White House is once again in complete chaos and the only person responsible is Trump himself.
Featured image via Mark Wilson/Getty Images
