President Trump despises James Comey so much that he … gives him free advertising?
Trump attacked his former FBI director’s character, calling Comey “a leaker,” a “slime ball,” and “a liar.” But Comey won’t mind because Comey is about to release his highly anticipate book: “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership.” The president is boosting sales by bashing him.
The timing of those tweets couldn’t be better for Comey. He just sat down with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos and he is gearing up for a media tour that reportedly will make stops everywhere from “The Late Show” to “The View.” Thanks to the president, now they will have an easy news hook to reintroduce the scandal because the book isn’t just a tell-all. It’s an existential threat to this presidency—at least that’s what one would think judging from Trump’s responses.
With his type-shouting and two 240-character rants, Trump has made Comey public enemy No 1.
James Comey is a proven LEAKER & LIAR. Virtually everyone in Washington thought he should be fired for the terrible job he did-until he was, in fact, fired. He leaked CLASSIFIED information, for which he should be prosecuted. He lied to Congress under OATH. He is a weak and…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 13, 2018
….untruthful slime ball who was, as time has proven, a terrible Director of the FBI. His handling of the Crooked Hillary Clinton case, and the events surrounding it, will go down as one of the worst “botch jobs” of history. It was my great honor to fire James Comey!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 13, 2018
Granted, the book was bound to enjoy high demand in any case. Comey has proven himself as much self-publicist as former law enforcement and the media has been more than happy to write this presidential feud as the grudge match of the century. With or without tweets, this was always going to be a big deal.
But the response is counter-productive and unsurprising. Comey wants a fight with the president. Trump couldn’t help but give Comey exactly that. He had to attack, and in doing so he helped Comey build buzz about his book and build his brand.
