Trump Is Waiting For You to Thank Him for Firing James Comey

The president awaits a nation’s gratitude.

Cheriss May/ZUMA

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On Thursday, President Donald Trump complained about a lack of appreciation for firing James Comey as head of the FBI, asking on Twitter when the gratitude will start pouring in.

The president’s rhetorical question overlooks the fact that his explosive decision to fire Comey was the catalyst for the gravest threat to his presidency: the appointment of Robert Mueller as a special counsel investigating Trump’s campaign ties Russia. Soon after Comey’s May 2017 firing, Trump seemed to confirm to NBC’s Lester Holt that he got rid of Comey because of the investigation, and reportedly told Russian officials that the firing had relieved pressure on his administration. The admissions have become central to Mueller’s investigation into whether Trump attempted to obstruct justice by sacking Comey.

Trump’s tweet comes ahead of the imminent expected release of a Justice Department inspector general report on Comey’s handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server. CNN has reported the findings are likely to be critical of the actions of both the former FBI director and Loretta Lynch, the Obama administration’s final attorney general.

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PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

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