Are the criticisms of Comey, the failing of the man...or the insult heavy culture we live in? Which Trump is normalizing for a POTUS.
Okay, at first blush the Trump tiny-hands, orange color, etc is petty...but Comey is a details guy. (Unlike DT) And he's telling a story, a narrative that demands them. (Again unlike DT) Plus, the details are really only insults to one party. Trump. Who would take a description of his sloppy tie tying...oh wait, he does that already...
Just because Trump is insulted by everything is no need to give in to his craziness, and give him a complete pass. He rails against political correctness, yet demands it be used for him. Im surpised he didnt sign an anti-tiny-hands word usage Executive Order. Punishable by a trip to Gitmo.
I dont think Comey is trying to win the war of "insults", but is giving in to the culture. And if he's relying on his contemporaneous notes, should he be editing them so to please the, "No go low, go high" meme? How'd that work for us? The Hyped-up, insult driven Right, under Trumps leadership keeps punching below the belt. Look at the vile way they attack Stoneman Douglas students? How they dont argue facts and policies, but instead the appearances and such of the Dems, liberals, etc..!
To denigrate Comeys descriptive style, while Fox, and others continue their insult onslaught is specious. The Mafia Don metaphor is wholly appropriate for Trump. It has been for decades. The guy "worships" despots! Wants their power!
Duh!
9
I don't really understand Frank Bruni's point in this piece. I think James Comey was particularly credible as he spoke about his experiences with Donald Trump. Yes, he's on a book tour, but he has an important mission as well, which is to give an insider's view of how Trump operates as a President, and to offer a warning to Americans about what kind of man Trump is.
I can't begin to see how Comey's revelations about all of this will help in any way Trump's standing in the United States. Further, I can't begin to fathom how anyone seeing these people in juxtaposition with one another might believe Trump as opposed to Comey, who comes across as very dignified and as someone grappling with his experiences with Trump.
While I was more than upset that the Clinton e-mail "investigation" was reopened 11 days prior to the election, I can understand, but not agree, with Comey's thinking at the time.
James Comey was at the crossroads of the most consequential election in our lifetime. His role in the election, and his direct experiences with Donald Trump, have a lot to offer us as voters. I don't see him grandstanding, and I do not understand how his putting forth what he learned in the process plays into Trump's game. On the contrary, I see Comey's experiences as very important and hopefully one that continues to shed light on what sort of president Donald Trump is, and how he has been so detrimental to our country and our expectations of what a president should be.
8
The criticism of Comey puts me back a bit to the "me too" movement. For too many years women who spoke out were criticized for being "too shrill" or think of your reputation or think of the business (or school, or church, etc). All designed to silence the speaker. Comey is not the problem, no one is arguing that he is not telling the truth. But somehow he is at fault for speaking out.
10
"The times doesnt get it, and neither does many of its readers. Liberal governance simply doesnt work. We had 8 years of it, and it failed miserably."
We've had a lot more than 8 years of liberal governance and it's worked fine. Conservative governance is great for the rich but the rest of us wind up in recession.
"Sure, Trump is a rough brash guy, but he has a keen understanding of economics, and how business is done, and jobs are created. He's lived it, and breathed it, and our economy is reaping its rewards."
What world are you living in? Trump is a bankrupt crook. His ham handed trade war may just throw us into recession. He had exploded our debt. Not a problem now! Thought so.
4
How is it a Victory when Everybody suffers ?
2
I'm not in agreementc with Frank Bruni this time. Bruni's thesis is that Comey played into Trump's hands by lowering himself with what he said in the book. The only way to avoid that, however, is for Comey not to call out Trump as he does in the book. Wouldn't Trump "win" if that's what Comey does? Trump's callously vile and untruthful antics dare everyone else to sink to his level. But that's sometimes what an effective opponent has to do.
17
I disagree with Bruni's premise, to be hypocritical is a human trait and I doubt if many rise above it... I'll hold my nose and go with Comey's take on 45...
2
I don't think that public officials (or star athletes) were ever expected to be as morally upstanding as the clergy. Otherwise they might have gone into the priesthood....I don't really care about their private lives....I didn't care about Clinton's philandering nor do I care about Donald's....this type of salacious reporting is tasteless....anyone remember sophistication....?
Mr. BRUNI has written a terrific review, and puts Comey in his place. Former FBI director has descended to TRUMP's level and his criticism of c-in-c's hair, complexion and hands is out of place, undignified, and strikes Alexander Harrison as cheap,out of place and unnecessary.Comey is not a writer; few politicians and bureaucrats are, and it shows, since book lacks "punch," is not "sexy!" Editors made a mistake by not hiring a co writer. When 0 "wrote" "Dreams from my Father,"he had a real wordsmith, Bill Ayres who knew how to turn a phrase, "make things cook," more or less by his side. When asked by an interviewer about his role, AYRES asked whether the interviewer could secure royalties for him! When Roger Stone, wrote his trilogy, "Jeb and the Bush Crime Family," "Nixon's Secrets" and "The Assassination of Kennedy. The Case Against LBJ," he hired Mike Colpietro, a real professional, and writing is superb!Like the idea that Comey, in writing an anti Trump book, has, in Bruni's eyes, come down to the c-in-c's level!Jolly good!
I usually concur with you...But not on this one. I think Comey is doing the right thing by speaking out against an obvious foul mouth liar
6
Beautifully done. Comey's recent behavior has been profoundly disappointing. His firing is a significant piece, possibly the central piece, in Mueller's obstruction case against Trump. Now Trump can claim personal vendetta that perhaps evidenced itself before the firing. This is a second huge betrayal by Comey, the first being when he announced the reopening of the investigation into Clinton's emails days before Americans went to the polls. He must regret this far more than he lets on, but rather than apologize for the error in judgment he has chosen to undermine once again.
Mr. Bruni--what would you suggest be done when the fate of life on earth is at stake? Too easy to criticize over stuff like this--however legit it might be deemed to be in some court of public opinion. Have you already forgotten what has been reported each day of this nightmare presidency? Perhaps life is too comfortable and we don't feel a sense of urgency yet--so we can afford to nitpick what was said in this scathing tell-all memoir?
5
Yeah, I get it about the surprisingly petty side of Comey's accounts. For me, the focus on it is also surprising. I don't see how anyone can emerge unscathed (and wanting to do some scathing of their own) from the Trump-Dump. I admire James Comey for the genuine moral outrage he voices, ex-FBI chief or no. Many, many more citizens should be sounding the alarm as he is. His absence of utter purity doesn't interest me. The clarity of his view and the risky stand he's taking to voice it does. In fact, it inspires.
5
I'm sad that James Comey so felt the need to up the sales of his book that he stuck in all the salacious details we've heard before but with his sonorous voice tried to make them seem important.
He could have written a valuable insider's view of where our country is at, with the attacks on the FBI, why it bothered him, touching on his mistakes in the public handling of Clinton emails, but leaving out the orange skin - like we're all blind? - or small hands - really? That was a tired insult the first time.
This president is a danger to our country but when the once head of the FBI joins him in the sandbox we're in serious trouble. Mr. Comey appears blinded by the bright light of fame and got addicted.
Stormy Daniels handled an illicit affair with salacious details with more detached professionalism in her interview than Mr. Comey did in his. That's a flip flop of values that's hard to reconcile.
My guess is that Trump will not achieve an "ultimate victory," with or without Comey.
Is this true only because I agree totally? I instantly labeled the Stephanopoulos event to my friends as a 3rd rate infomericial. If Comey has disappointed with both his political naivete and his low down sense of petty revenge (and he really has, even if there are truths embedded in his work), George has sunk with him. Where is the bottom of this swamp?
2
Its quite amazing that the subscriber base of the NYTimes are people that consider themelves "smart". Day in and day out, the times writes ugly hateful articles like this, and the comment section explodes insults in kind.
The times doesnt get it, and neither does many of its readers.
Liberal governance simply doesnt work. We had 8 years of it, and it failed miserably.
Sure, Trump is a rough brash guy, but he has a keen understanding of economics, and how business is done, and jobs are created. He's lived it, and breathed it, and our economy is reaping its rewards.
What are you people going to do when Trump wins re-election?
For an ideology thats supposed to be "tolerant", you truly are the most hateful people on the planet.
Well, next to ISIS that is. Funny how you are on the same side of many issues.
2
You talking about Donald Trump, who stiffed his contractors, investors, and wives? Bailed out of debt by $100 Million ruble infusion from a pal of Vladimir Putin? That Donald? Guy whose tax plan creates a windfall for the .01% and not you? Several trillion in deficits which will justify GOP cuts to Medicare and Social Security? That business genius? Keen understanding of economics? LOL. Keen understanding of graft and grift. Guy can't get a loan in his own city.
11
How does a series of bankruptcies constitute "a keen understanding of economics and how business is done"? Perhaps you have never read any of the many investigative pieces that look deeply into Trump's manipulations and stiffing of countless contractors.
7
Mr. Trump thanks you for your tuition payment, and wishes to know where we should deliver a) your diploma from Trump University and b) the Brooklyn Bridge. Postage due.
1
Oh boo hoo Frank. Much ado about nothing.
1
Mr Bruni your bias is over the top.................sad!
2
James Comey joins Jeff Flake, John McCain and a large host of others who can't stomach what Trump is doing to our nation and the presidency. Hopefully, like a dam slowly rupturing, the flow of anger and disgust with Trump & Company will become a raging torrent, sweeping away this pretender and his toadies.
5
Perhaps Comey has decided to take one for the country. Maybe, in the hope that he can provoke Trump into saying something so damning that it can’t be ignored, Comey is willing to sacrifice his own reputation.
1
I am reminded of the time Ronald Wilson Reagan conspired with J. Edgar Hoover to deprive members of Reagan's Screen Actor's Guild of their 1st amendment constitutional rights.
Trump is merely righting a previous wrong in moving oversight closer to the electorate. Trump may be incompetent and capricious but as we peel away the layers of onion from the justice department it smells less like onion and more like the rot of unchecked nepotism.
The CIA, FBI and the rest of the justice department seems a relic of the past unfit for a 21st century liberal democracy. History records that when William F. Buckley Jr. left university his first job was at the CIA where he felt his duty was to protect the strong from the weak. Things haven't change much in 75 years and as much as I admire James Comey's allegiance to the ruling class he is a patrician to his very core and that is simply unAmerican.
3
Huh? Trump's firing Comey was obstruction of justice. If he fires Mueller, he will have obstructed justice again.
Remind us how many special prosecutors Clinton fired? Oh, it was NONE.
4
I am disappointed in Comey's even mentioning Trump's physical attributes. What point is Comey trying to make by calling out the tone of Trump's skin or the size of his hands? Trump's vanity? There is ample evidence of that in what he says and does, without focusing on physical characteristics. More problematically, I think Comey is betraying a personal bias against the president that could be used to undermine the credibility that Comey may someday be called to give.
I don't know Frank. On the one hand, for people like Trump, there is no bad publicity...anything that keeps him in the spotlight, including harsh criticism, is good, he thinks.
On the other hand, after reading "Russian Roulette" (by Ishikoff and Corn), so much of Trump's disgusting behavior, his dishonor and brutishness, his Russian and mob ties, were known for years, if not decades, before the election and not communicated well to the populace. This should have been shouted to the heavens by Clinton, Trump's Republican contenders, and the mainstream media. And yet, despite disturbing mentions of this or that trickled in from time to time, it wasn't, at least in any effective way.
So better late than never with Comey calling Trump out in graphic terms. Some of the Trumpets, generally a hardline law and order crew, may start to ask themselves about a President who refers to the former FBI Director in World Wrestling Federation terms.
My problem with Comey is that he gives himself a pass in highlighting the non-issue of the emails that turned an election (apparently allowing his NY office to go rogue...e.g., how did Roger Stone know what he knew about the second investigation before it was announced, and so on). So, Comey is Trump's victory... but that happened before the election.
2
An eye for an eye,
A name for a name.
Go either way
And you stand in shame.
Trump needs to be taunted, goaded, and smacked around with words. Every time he reacts we see how immature and ridiculous he is; how low he has sunk the office of the Presidency. A president is supposed to be above this. And I see no other Republicans who are willing to smack him around.
4
Nah....Bruni is overthinking this week. Yes, the media show is vainglorious. But here's the thing, you say you "agree with nearly everything Comey says..." Okay then Frank just leave it there.
5
"Don't wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and the pig likes it." -- George Bernard Shaw
2
Judging from the flak he's getting from both parties, did Comey just write his Comikaze?
Nonsense. Comey is already slam dunking the Dumpster at his own game, with words that need to be said. This isn't Bruni's first dumb take. Get a grip.
4
Executive Summary of this column: Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty, and the pig enjoys it.
I can't help but think back on the NYT's breathless coverage of Hillary Clinton's emails. Seems like there were dozens or even hundreds of mentions of her emails in the weeks before the election.
Would now be a good time to talk about whether the NYT should have been better in its election coverage?
4
I agree. Trump is a black hole.
This whole opinion is just plain silly.
2
Good article.
1
To call a sleazebag a sleazebag, does not make you a sleazebag.
4
"Never Wrestle with a Pig. You Both Get Dirty and the Pig Likes It."
This is by far the best analysis I've read so far on Comey's book tour.
"There’s obviously no contest of character or credibility between Comey and Trump. I believe most and maybe all of what Comey has to say"
Frank, you are kidding, right? You do not believe that Comey lost whatever credibility he had long ago?
Are you delusional?
4
Frank is correct that Comey has joined the Trump Circus. But what Frank could have added is that the media, alleged protectors of truth and democracy, have wholeheartedly joined the farce in a quest for some combination of ratings and commitment to the Resistance. I am not sure which factor is driving them more, but one thing we can say for certain is that their veneer of objectivity, already frayed by their fawning coverage of the preceding Administration, is now completely gone. But the circus aspect of it is maybe more distressing, as the MSM finds Stormy Daniels more intriguing than, say, the China trade dispute. Progressive reporters hold the general public in contempt for their alleged stupidity, but then fall all over themselves trying to get an interview with a porn star. I can't wait for CNN or MSNBC to hire Ms. Daniels as a full time White House correspondent. The ratings would be great. Jim Acosta should get his resume dusted off.
3
Frank, Sometimes ya just gotta get down in the mud and wrestle.
3
Huh? Trump “has inoculated himself against the judgment of Robert Mueller” because Comey is doing a book tour and offers observations that Bruni doesn’t like? Oh, please, spare us the indignation. Trump hasn’t inoculated himself against Mueller; he just continues to dig his hole ever deeper.
3
Belittling & spiteful. You misunderstand the importance of what Comey is doing.
7
Terrible, terrible, absolutely terrible headline! And so untrue.
4
Frank,
You should recognize the 'rope-a-dope' when you see it.
1
Frank you need to be reminded that you too not that long ago took the low road in journalism by unfairly attacking Hillary Clinton. What was all that about, shameless self promotion?
4
Comey reminds me of other men who had a record of service but then lost their good sense, OR got caught indulging a character flaw. Ted Kennedy, Gary Hart, Anthony Weiner, etc.
He usurped the AG's role in announcing no charges for Hilary and opening his self- righteous mouth to condemn her anyway, then, without reading the Hilary e mails on Huma Abedin's phone announced their existence 11 days before the election, then a week later revealed they were only duplicates. He kept the Trump-Russia campaign investigation secret. NOW he excoriates Trump.
The ABC interview -he looked like a fool who can not admit how flawed his reasoning was. His explanations of these grievous mistakes are pathetic. Illogical, total failure at his proclaimed strategies, and after a whole book of swearing he does not vote or ever act politically, he said he hopes the Mueller probe does not result in a report going to Congress-Good God, this guy's ego is on Mars. He has no idea what Mueller will find and he's yapping again without thought. He wants the voters to vote their values and get rid of Trump-very partisan.
The idiot doesn't get it, they did vote THEIR values.
Ari Melber savaged Comey's horrible thinking and idiotic defense today on The Beat. Comey typifies the Dunning-Kruger Effect in his behavior since 2016. Thought he was smarter, cooler, how he would look was more important than his country, he, not Lynch, would talk for the prosecutors. Wrong, he was dumber than a door nail.
3
"I believe most and maybe all of what Comey has to say, and much of it needs saying, as an answer to the president’s lies and an exposure — affirmation might be the better word — of who and what Trump is."
If you believe this, why beat up on Comey for telling it like it is? I suppose you want him to take the high ground and not say what needs to be said. Trump has reached his current level because too few people are willing to publicly call him out for his behavior.
5
Even a great columnist occasionally writes a real clunker. This one was Mr. Bruni's for 2018. Looking forward to some of Frank's brilliant, on-target insights in the next column. PS: That headline, "Comey Is Trump's Ultimate Victory," was as cringe-worthy as the column.
6
Nope, Comey looks like a hero. I usually agree with Frank Bruni but this today's piece is not reading the room correctly.
3
I don’t agree that Comey should remain above the fray. Obama is doing that, and how does it help this country? Intellectual detachment doesn’t hasten the demise of Trump.
During the Republican primary, Jeb Bush did not engage Trump, and how did that work out? When you are dealing with immoral bullies, you have to, at some point, get “down and dirty” and beat him at his own game. Otherwise, those voters who put him in office, won’t get the message. They believe that Obama and the others who stay out of the fight are cowards or just don’t care.
To me, Comey comes across as an authentic and decent person who is not afraid to wrestle with his doubts and share his thought processes with us. What a refreshing contrast with The Donald!
29
Comey's book is political porn for the left. There are no bombshell revelations. There is no thoughtful legal commentary. It comes across as an attempt from a disgruntled ex-employee to an overbearing, but powerful boss.
Precisely zero of Trump's supporters will 1) realize the error of their way because of Comey's book or 2) buy the book in the first place. This is in the same vein as Michael Wolff's book with one rather disturbing difference: Mr. Wolff has always been a purveyor of salacious gossip. Mr. Comey was (is?) the epitome of the Washington establishment insider (aka swamp). As such, to see a card-carrying swamp-dweller (that is, establishment bulwark) lower himself to the President's insult-slinging level is perhaps indicative as to the extent of Trump's triumph in stirring the political pot.
Other indications of his triumph is the rather ominous exit of so many establishment Republicans from Congress. Is this a good thing for the left? What remains to be seen in November is whether the hatred of Trump the man by the left is greater than the support of Trump the leader of the populist nationalist movement that is "Trumpism"
We are truly living in scary and historic times...
2
Didn’t Hillary say, “When they go low, we go high?” What did that get her?
Oh, come on give up Frank. how can you compare Coney to Trump?!!!
What is wrong with two ethically challenged scorpions going at each other. Comey is out, his egregious behaviour is just a dull reflection of the much brighter perfidy of the liar in chief. His pyric victory is only ephemeral.
1
Comey is a narcissist, but his narcissism is not in Trump's league.
1
I must say that Iam happyto read this article. I had very similar thoughts while viewing the interview. Comey lost some credibility with me and certainly he did not have any credibility for his reasoning on going on TV just before the election with his now infamous disclosures.
1
I hope that this is the one and only time that I feel sorely let down by your tone and theme, Mr. Bruni, both of which I consider petty and peevish.
2
Oh my Frank, does this mean chivalry is dead?
So, Paul Dobbs of Cornville, AZ, gets his posted, yet not mine? Pandering to your reader-base again,
Backstage Crew?
Sorry, Bruni, wrong again: Comey has revealed what was always there. Just took the right man to
reveal it. Not pretty is it, especially when Comey's fellow McCabe left disgraced for life? And all
for Hillary's benefit, so they thought. O, "lordy", how Trump turned the tide on the entire DNC Politburo fleet sailing the Washington Swamp, FBI et al.
1
Only took 14 hours. Not bad.
1
I agree with Frank. When Republicans play by arrogant Republican rules they look strong to their audience and repulsive to Democrats and centrists. When Democrats and centrists (like Comey) play by arrogant Republican rules that look weak to their audience and laughable to Republicans. This helps Trump. Don't wrestle a pig...
Methinks director Comey is entitled to any and all monies he can make from this sideshow - formerly center ring act - of a country...
A career cleaning up after the elephants - including a workplace accident where you were done in by one of their biggest dumps - hardly says to go gentle into that good night...
Even have a name for the movie:
"The Apprentice's Sorcerer"
1
Hey, maybe Trump can get Three Doors Down to represent him? Just a thought. Maybe he'll be three cells down from Cohen, Manafort and Flynn?
Comey might engage with Trump with perhaps less invective and still effectively face him down. But the problem with liberals such as Bruni is that turning the other cheek and playing nice with people like Trump or other such fascists has never worked. If Comey doesn't go after this thug, who will?
2
Mr Comey's style belies that of a thoughtful lawyer, and stays within his lane. Did I learn anything new? Not really, as a guy who's news level is fast approaching ad nauseum. As for the color of Trumps skin and the size of his hands, his editor could have redlined that detail out. Observation confirms that while President Obama possessed a healthy bronze this all white president matches the color of his constituants. This country and the free world awaits Trumps next incorherant exortation.
1
Bruni make good points, ones I've thought myself, but like most columnists makes black and white conclusions when there are areas of grey. I would have preferred he not write the book, and take a higher ground. Of course I'm opposed to all government employees taking advantage of their time in public service and writing books that hit the pop charts. Perhaps we should devise a tax on the proceeds so that no once can make a fortune taking advantage of their PUBLIC service. That said. There are some points that Comey needed to make and did, mainly ones he already made in testifying in Congress. I come out seeing him like I do other lawyers I've worked with. Most are obsessive thinkers. We're trained that way. But some, like Comey are so obsessive they think themselves into a pretzel. I think he's quite honorable, save for his lust for attention, tells truth to a fault, but over-thought the e-mail issue. In his quest to keep the FBI apolitical, he created a political maelstrom.
1
Perhaps we saw FBI personnel for whom they really are! We might have had rose coloured glasses on!
2
I love Bruni's writing but a better kicker line would have been, "Honey, I shrunk the Feds''
1
Amazing, Unbelievable! At long last, from you, a balanced column. Al least today.
Jim, Wilmette
1
Comey's job was to defend the Constitution and investigate anyone who did anything in violation of that document or the laws enacted by Congress. He failed in that job, allowing partisan politics to drive his actions. Consider: If he had investigated Hillary Clinton's activities as Secretary of State in either "Emailgate" or "PayToPlaygate" with the same integrity and attitude of Mueller, would Clinton have ever become the DNC POTUS candidate? No honest intelligent American above the age of 3 can seriously believe that she would.
3
Bruni is still trying to think like a mainstream journalist in the Age of Trump.
The way to defeat Trump, and he, his family, his business empire itself, must be defeated if we are to recover the soul of our creed, is to play the "4 corners game."
Keep the ball moving on him; don't let him control the narrative, overload him with everything from his response to the Assad chemical attack to the real estate advice Sean Hannity got from Michael Cohen.
Pound away at him on the air and on line the way he pounded away on the 2016 campaign trail and is revving up to do so as the 2018 elections approach.
No more "adults in the room" nonsense. No more "but what about fill-in-the-blank issue." No more bringing a water pistol to the OK Corral.
Don't think it can work to rid the nation of this international crime family?
Go talk to Stormy Daniels and Micheal Avanati to see the strategy in action.
The only way to consider Comey as acting abnormally is if you think Trump is acting normally or can be convinced to act normally.
1
Frank, aka Mr. Bruni, I wholly disagree with you, but I really admired your candor, in stepping into the comments to clarify. I started with Reader Picks since there were no NYT Picks. I have never hit "recommend " so many times. I finally stopped around the 50 recommend level, when my finger got tired. Yes, James Comey has an outsized ego and thank God for that. We need a reasoned and intelligent voice to lead the lemmings and the rest of us, out of the Trump firestorm.
2
I agree that Trump drags everyone down, not to his level, but he does give people license to embrace their inner catty jerk. However, I don't think Comey sold out or stooped to Trumpian levels.
Comey is a law man. He is a highly trained observer and his take on Trump's hair and hands gives us a glimpse into how he notices things, both small and orange. This does nothing to diminish him. It merely explains how he views things.
1
You know, the thing the MAGA-teers (aka "the base") have always liked best about the so-called president is his utter lack of class, decorum, and dignity. They like that he calls people names, and treats anyone and everyone (except Putin, of course) in a demeaning and disrespectful manner. They say--repeatedly--that they most like the fact that he isn't "politically correct." They wouldn't know the "high road" if they were on it.
So, perhaps, in part, Comey is tailoring his message to 45's supporters. He is talking to them in the only way they will understand. Or accept.
And he is certainly presenting the message in the only way the abomination in the White House will understand it.
It is a strange world where an incompetent and corrupt former FBI Director who was disliked by just about everyone and unceremoniously fired for cause writes a salacious book whining about how the President was meant him to cash in.
And the media eats it up.
2
This has developed into an ugly, petty battle between alpha-males and it's a tempest in a teapot. Comey has nothing to reveal that is newsworthy, and Trump spews vicious blathering that we've already heard.
1
I'm tired of hearing Trump, Fox News and his Republican minions spread thier hate and lies about Democrats and anyone else standing in their way. We should be swinging for a knock-out of Trump every chance we can. Comey is telling it like Trump is. nothing wrong with fighting fire with fire. The Democratic leadership should take a lesson.
2
Comey is incapable of sinking to the level of this "President," who mocked a reporter with a disability, and then, in the cowardice that bullies have, denied it. That was one of the most disgraceful displays in which I've ever seen a so-called adult engage.
2
Comey's book will not make those who think Trump is a disaster any more convinced. On the other hand the book will also not convince Trump supporters that he is a vile, narcissistic dictator wannabe. They will continue to consider him the second coming no matter what he does. So exactly who is Comey aiming at with his book?
1
It is problematic whether people remember the 1988 Presidential election which ended up being dominated by the Willie Horton controversy. I will never forget my late beloved mother saying "Why doesn't Dukakis fight dirty like Bush does?" I am truly sick and tired of journalists demanding that James Comey shut up. This so-called President is destroying everything decent about the United States of America and not only Comey but everyone who fears for what this monster and his supine senators and congressmen are doing have the right and duty to attack him on television or elsewhere.
1
He stoops to conquer.
2
Finally somebody brave enough to look and listen and report what a pious, pompous, smug, vain creep comey is. Wolfe is a journalist looking for the juiciest stories, but he's honest about it, and he actually reported lots of things we didn't know. By now comey doesn't have much left to reveal, but a lot of books to sell. So he's become the conscience of a nation-in his dreams. He's just lucky that trump is an even bigger, more outrageous creep.
Comey is fighting fire with fire.
There's a subset of the public for whom Comey's body blows go a long way to painting Trump as he really is. You can't turn the other cheek with Trump. A pig keeps pigging until you stop him.
3
I'm mature and well-enough educated to be able to accept less than perfect heroes. Comey will suffice, and as a law enforcement officer, a very smart one at that, he understands that he needs to make sense to the jurors...and that means code-switching and speaking their language...I'm grateful he's willing to be a street-fighter.
4
I don't think Comey has joined Trump in the food fight, Frank. I think Comey realizes a food fight is the only thing that Trump - and his willfully ignorant base - understands. Which will make the now inevitable victory (for the country) over this ongoing idiocy crystal clear to all.
2
"When you wrestle with a pig, only the pig enjoys it."
Well said, Frank. Comey is much more credible than Trump. But Comey strayed into Marco Rubio territory with the comments on Trump's hands and appearance. It's possible Comey was encouraged along this vein by his editors thinking it would help sales. Either way, apparently Comey forgot the adage about wresting with a pig.
1
I find Bruni's critique wrong. Comey is a good imperfect person. Find some one who isn't. The media has been on the whole way to nice and respectful of Trump. E.g.: treating the inane antics of a shameless, amoral, greedy liar as debatable policy. Fight fire with fire. What have we got to lose? Go get 'em Comey.
2
Comey has lost his job and is parlaying that loss into a mountain of cash. Good for him and anyone else who wants to spend their hard-earned dollars to have at the prurient entertainment on offer. Good fun, but not worthy of the New York Times' editorial page.
1
From painful and damaging past experience with an ex-family member, I know that it is impossible to get anywhere combating the ploys and lies of someone who is a malignant narcissist and/or low grade psychopath by taking the high road.
1
The NYT spent the election constantly praising trumps “tell it like it is” attitude and how well that connected with voters.
Now that Comey is essentially beating trump at his own game this behavior is”beneath” everyone?
2
If we prance around this disarray and continue to play fairly with our current President we will all be party to his incompetence. Stand up all. Find your “manhood” and “womanhood” and prepare to roll up your sleeves and get dirty in the muck of this administration. Sadly there is no other choice. GET HIM COMEY!
2
Recall Connery’s words to Costner’s Ness in facing DeNiro’s Capone: “if they bring a knife you bring a gun”.
It’s a wonder more folks have not called out this bullying mess of a man for his shortcoming. He is and should be remembered as a short fingered vulgarian.
3
With all due respect to Michelle Obama, "When they go low, we go high" did not work out.
2
Mr. Bruni, it appears you set the bar impossibly high for victims of Trump's vindictiveness.
Summarily dismissed, 4 years into his 10-year term as head of the FBI, Comey is not the biblical Job, nor did he sign an NDA, like many of sycophants around Trump.
This adult boy scout who has probably never even jaywalked in his life, just had his career unjustifiably terminated, and a dump truck of Trump's verbal sewage dumped on this head.
You take umbrage at Comey's mild rejoinders and and insights into Trump's personality disorders?
Please. Comey isn't St. Peter. And we shouldn't expect him to be.
A few snarky comments about Trump's hands and hair is small change, in fact it is the coin of the realm for media savants like yourself. Spare me the indignation.
2
Come on, taking the high road with trump and his followers will not work. I say get down and dirty, wrestle in the mud, whatever it takes to take trump and his odious family down and get our country back.
2
Trump is a bully who delights in humiliating people in order to distract us from how inadequate he is morally and intellectually. Instead of finger fanning and "do-declaring" over some not-so-nice things that Comey observed about this monstrosity of a man, perhaps pause to observe that its time to stop with the niceties, roll up our sleeves and run this administration out of town.
2
That "high road" that HRC mentioned traveling?
45 took the low road at the fork 50 years ago and is thousands of miles from the "other" fork now.
In retrospect, how'd that work out for her ?
Typically Democrat---bring a knife to a shootout.
1
How many pieces, in or out of the opinion section, will the Times publish to push this narrative? We seem to get two or three every time Comey does anything. When behavior actually looks bad, we can tell by looking at it. We don't need you telling us over and over.
I haven't read his book, but I've compared his interview to some of the Times' pieces about him, and I may have figured out why your publication hates him: Comey doesn't seem to believe that integrity is about being "above the fray" -- he thinks it's about holding to truth and principles when you're in the middle of the fray. For some reason, that concept is making your heads explode.
3
Sorry Frank, but you got this one wrong, as did MIchelle Obama. The mantra ought to be, "When Trump goes low, we meet him in the gutter and metaphorically kick his teeth in with the same tactics that he has used for 71 years." I'm tired of "nice and respectful" because Trump does not deserve it and it was one of the failed responses that got us to Trump.
26
This man shares too many of Trumps' flaws. While none are as severe, he's a narcissistic self promoter who won't shut up! With every interview he diminishes his own reputation and character, and unfortunately that of the F.B.I.
2
If Comey's book and interviews degrade him, doesn't rehashing the same in this op-ed equally degrade you and the NYT. Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
As the old saying would have it, never wrestle with a
pig. You’ll get dirty, and the pig likes it.
1
James Comey reminds me of Antisthenes, an intellectual Cynic, who cynically dressed in rags. In Plato's Dialogues, he is confronted by Socrates, who admonishes him by stating, "I can see your vanity Antisthenes, through the wholes in your cloak". His clone is the sanctimonious James Comey, whose nauseating self righteousness is visible through his faux humility, and who cost Hilary Clinton the presidency.
2
So much has been made of the physical description Comey wrote of Trump. He was simply accurate. Trump is orange with goggle marks under his eyes and his hair is very unusual. There is not a pejorative in the Comey account. Readers who think the description sounds unattractive, must think that an orange face with white circles under the eyes is unattractive. That isn't Comey's fault.
Anymore than it is Comey's fault that the president is a sordid human being. Unfortunately, describing an ugly man means you have to say he's ugly.
4
So, are we going to have a national conversation about another dead Russian journalist, again an opponent of Vlad, who was trying to tie up some loose ends that appeared to join Trump's team, some dirty Russian spies, the election, and a sex coach stuck in Thailand? A world of laundered rubles and young journalists/lawyers/activists murdered that stretches back more than a decade and involves our current leader & his kids is going to make a great movie. But before we start casting the various Trumps, we've got to survive as a democracy.
2
Comey is not credible. He had a chance to tell the truth during the congressional hearings, and he didn’t. Instead he was saving everything for his book.
I will never forgive him for sabotaging the Clinton presidential campaign.
1
I'm fed up to my eyeballs with prim and proper liberals who continue to embrace the delusion that Trump and Trumpism can be countered by some sort of gentlemanly debate. It's not wrong, or even odd, that the former FBI director describes Trump as acting like a mob boss, because he does act like a mobster. The man is a thug, a thief and a charlatan. It's not wrong for Comey to say it's possible that Trump cavorted with prostitutes in Russia and possible that the Russians have "compromat" on Trump because it's possible -- indeed, a good deal more than possible because Christopher Steele's findings may be right on target. Just because Trump and all his stooges have been calling it "fake" for a year means nothing. It's delusional to imagine that arguments or ideas will move any of the 40% of voters who back Trump; they view all of his monstrous faults as attractions and won't be blasted out of his camp, even by incontrovertible proof that he's a crook and a traitor.
31
When Trump writes a book and goes on a book tour, then I would say he is coming up to Comey's level.
Trump richly deserves all he is getting from Comey. If the discussion is raw and lowlife it is because Trumps behavior is raw and lowlife.
Comey has ever right to tell is like is is with Trump.
5
Thank you Bruni for being one of the few writers at the NyT that can actually observe what is happening correctly and not living in their own shelters and never looking outside the window. Bravo.
A street fighting amoral brute personality can't be contested from a noble high ground. People who never experienced this type of personality don't get this. They just can't imagine what these people have in their arsenal and to what length they are willing to go. Comey had ample opportunity to experience this types in his law enforcement carrier.
3
In judging Comes, let's also keep in mind that 1) he's unemployed,2) not independently wealthy (so why not write a book?), 3) has endured a year of worst, most vile insults and name-calling. We can question his timing, but doesn't he deserve his turn at the microphone to defend himself? Why is the standard of behavior for Comey set so high while at the same time everyone now merely shrugs and accepts Trump's behavior as, well, being himself? Come is not a perfect person, but after what he's endured why not cut him some slack?
3
Comey admits to torture involvement:
“I wanted to say, ‘You have no idea how hard these legal issues are. You have no idea that Congress defined torture in American criminal law differently than you and I would understand it,’” he told Stephanopoulos.
“So saying, ‘Don't be the torture guy,’ I don't wanna be. But my job as a lawyer is to say, ‘Here's what the statute means,’” he added. “And there's a whole lot that would pass muster under the statute, that I would think that any normal person would think is torture.”
I was not pleased by Mr. Comey’s original reaction to Mrs. Clinton’s emails practices and I think it had an unfortunate effect on the election.
But to say that it put Trump in the Oval Office is an oversimplification of the facts: Mr. Putin, even more clearly, affected our election with his successful attempt to attack the United States.
Comey’s self-justification at the time and in his book rubs me the wrong way but please put the burden of the blame where it belongs.
I have not called Putin “Vlad the Impaler” for nothing!
4
I couldn't agree more with this column. The ABC special was in my opinion disgraceful rubbish - terribly edited, sensationalist, the stuff of tabloid TV. Comey's book and his character are presumably honest and serious; if they are, he should change his promotional strategy immediately. Everyone who gets near this President is in some way cheapened.
More like “Honey I shriveled the country”
Everyone who knows Comey well testifies to his 25 years of service and above all his honesty. Is he perfect? Of course not, but when you consider the despicable treatment he was given by Trump in, and immediately after his firing,..I believe soon after Trump was laughing it up with the Russians, calling Comey a clown...you have to cut him a little slack.
4
Trump is as he has always been. Boorish and tacky. He says things in the light of day mostly said by pols of a certain generation behind the scenes.
Comey has always seemed self-serving. In this scenario, Trump seems like the adult. That is not easy to accomplish.
1
Lowest common denominator wins. That is the new American world order. A land of comments and make believe. Trump walking into the White House made it official. But America is flapping in the breeze of clicks and views, likes, outrage and settlements. Comey just cashing in just like Stormy.
I am a big fan of Frank Bruni, but I have to disagree with “Comey is Trump’s Ultimate Victory.” Comey was sullied long before he engaged with Trump. It is true he trades blow for blow with Trump and this whole conflict may be playing out in an unseemly, Trumpian manner. Comey may be something of a blind, tone deaf bureaucrat, especially in the way he dealt with Hillary Clinton, but he distinguished himself as a prosecutor earlier in his career and he certainly took his job seriously. Trump has distinguished himself by making money in dubious ways and lying, and his enthusiasm is reserved for his ratings, not his duty.. However, he is President. Stereotypically, little kids may want to grow up to be president. Few want to grow up to be head of the FBI. As a law enforcement agency, it demands probity and fairly spotless conduct, but I don’t believe that the director looms in most people’s mind - until something has gone wrong. The president of the country commands “the bully pulpit,” among other things. Trump removed “the pulpit” from the phrase. Comey is not backing down and he is fighting tawdry fire with tawdry fire. There may be an indecorous, vengeful air to Comey’s jabs, but he doesn’t have much to lose, and then, there’s the sale of his book. Trump is a plane with one engine malfunctioning after another, going down in flames.
3
Sometimes you have to stand up to a bully, even if it means getting your hands dirty or taking a beating.
5
Comey is right---everyone Trump touches gets tainted, unfortunately even him---but let's not fall for that false equivalency trap.
Comey's book may not be pretty, but at least it seems honest, and it is a far cry from the "slime ball" "loser" filth, and outright lies that come out in Trump's tweets (and mouth).
Mueller would do well to minimize all human interaction with this despicable president.
3
I agree with your assessment. Comey fancies himself as a man with integrity but he comes across as anything but. The elevation of Trump has revealed how many White male leaders are weak and cowardly when confronted with a real threat.
Can we elect some Black female leaders? I am willing to bet that Black women know how to effectively deal with Trump and shut him down.
The president is not above the law, but neither is James Comey. He should be on trial for lying under oath and for leaking state secrets. His book is the work of a self-serving narcissist!
1
This is not a food fight, it’s mud wrestling and you should expect to see mud on both opponents.
James Comey and the president are like hogs wallowing in a mud pen, doing their best to bury each other in slime and filth. Nobody expects the president to be better than that but Comey took the president's bait and comes off poorly.
Once thought of as a staunch defender of truth, justice and law and order, Comey has done his adversary a favor by giving him air time with not facts, but with assumptions and guesses about what the Russians may have on the president. Comey doesn't know anything about how the president could be compromised so the less he says about that, the better.
Comey engaged in age old put downs, the likes of which are played out in schoolyards and classrooms by kids whose aim is to embarrass, humiliate and shame other boys. Comey didn't shame the president, only himself in a lame attempt to go one-one-one with a bully who should simply be ignored. Comey didn't help his cause or his book at all. He's supposed to be the grown up here and he should act like one.
Well, I guess Democrats can continue to mount proper and reasoned arguments, then get clobbered. A moral monster inhabits the White House. How are you supposed to talk about him?
Totally disagree. Comey threw some punches against Trump to draw blood. Trump has steamrolled all his opponents by going for their jugular and then they remain relatively silent. Comey's comments were made to draw publicity. You want to play silent saint with Trump you end up in the reputation gutter.
1
When you've done a pretty good job of being a citizen and part of a society, but are then held up for all to see as a charlatan and liar, then, what do you expect?
Comey is human, and fired as he spoke to the FBI. Wow. Think about that. Fired as he spoke to his people. Despicable.
The war hero fired by the draft-dodger, and called a liar, a cheat, not-too-smart. Wow. Trump is a true evil spirit.
No, I go with Comey. It's okay if he gets a little overboard at times with some petty perceptions. Look what the (truly, not fake) lying, cheating, bully Trump did to him and his beloved USA.
Go Comey. Thanks for all your service. Thank you.
Trump be gone.
2
Elitist obsession with ‘decorum’ (while also running an op ed from John Yoo - irony?) is part of the reason Trump won. Keep clutching your pearls Bruni. It’s nice to see Trump taken to the mat by Comey and it in no way lessens the respect that he and his book deserve.
1
The Times's Bret Stephens got it right with this: STEPHENS: "That being said, I think Trump, with his political instinct, is smart to attack Comey. I think this is a story of the pig versus the prig. The thing about the pig — the thing about the pig, no matter how much mud is spattered on the pig, in this case the President, very little of it sticks because you expect him to be splattered in mud. With a prig, if there's a single stain on his otherwise spotless shirt, you’re going to say, 'There's a stain on your shirt.'
The op ed is a false equivalence.
1
He deliberately violated Justice Department rules written specifically to prevent election interference.
Mueller is breaking his neck trying to track town election interference, while this guy is gleefully telling how he did it for $29.95 a pop.
1
Our reality TV president has turned news organizations into something like reality tv, too. Stormy Daniels on 60 Minutes, James Comey on ABC News...what's next?
Well said Frank ... but as you mentioned Comey is entirely credible while Trump is not ... Comey's remarks about Trump's hands may have been an attempt to be humorous ... not Comey's strong suit ... his comments on Trump's skin color a reaction to a strange looking human being ... anyway, the man has to make a living and a book tour is a book tour ... why not get the word out??!! ...
1
He's dropped his Straight Arrow persona and all the bile he accumulated in his storied career is coming out.
1
High minded liberals already despise the #PLIC. A takedown, on the order of WWE, is needed to convince the others that the emperor has no clothes.
I don't think Comey goes far enough.
1
You have been losing me for awhile, Mr. Bruni, but this op-ed piece ended my hesitation to call it quits. Your relativist perspective when it comes to Donald Trump and Michael Comey is so horribly hollow and so terribly cowardly. This type of presentation is a strong reason why the “liberal” perspective has become so vulnerable to attack. And legitimately so.
Only one question for Mr. Bruni and I’d request an honest answer. Did you read the entire book before writing your column?
1
The title of Comey's book should be" "How Bitter Are You Actually?"
Comey continues to prove that he was truly unfit to be head of the FBI. Who would have thought that the head of the FBI who is in entrusted with all kinds of secrets would write a tell-all book? Amazing. The man is a crybaby and completely incompetent.
1
Oh, hie thee to the fainting couch. So Comey was juvenile in parts of his presentation. The American experiment is blowing up and you’re concerned about etiquette?
1
Bruni nailed it.
Comey Is Trump’s Ultimate Victory
No, I don't agree.
For some of us, Comey is a complicated subject. He is arguably more responsible for getting Trump elected than anyone else. On the other hand, freed of the constraints of his office, he is able to say what many believe-- that Trump is an incompetent, dangerous and likely corrupt fool.
The 'base' as they say, will not hear that news. Trump has cemented the most obtuse of us into a quivering mass of sycophancy the likes of which have rarely been seen outside of Hitler's Germany.
But the rest of us need to hear from those who worked closely with this president the same words and feelings that Trump evokes in the rest of us.
There is a time for gentility. Under the circumstances, I forgive Mr. Comey his excesses.
2
Comey's vendetta seems to be his defeated bewildered conscience robbing his usual vanity of its just sleep. I only say this because of his odd remedy to trump: actually voting the farce out of office. To me an impeachment is still democracy at work. The overture of voting trump out -- a man who never wanted to be potus, anyway -- may be enough to appease Comey's very personal remorse for empowering the propaganda of trump and f news. Comey's own binary thinking regarding morality and justice evidently twisted him into an irrational knot in his decision with the Clinton emails. This is hardly a tragedy, but he should have read Othello.
I think you make the point that Trump is a liar. What's clear is that Comey is not. He's honest. That matters in the long run.
Comey is also human. We wonder about Trump on this front. Comey's book is an exercise in Catharsis. Sometimes we humans just need that. He may be flawed - and I'd say, in this case, somewhat manipulative - but he was deeply hurt and this is a necessary way of venting if not grieving.
This book will fade away. There's nothing new in it. Trump's financial, judicial, sexual and tabloid escapades will snatch away any semblance of a momentary victory.
1
Comey may be playing Trump's game and Trump may be a better player but Comey is just the first batter in this game and he has a team. Trump does not.
1
What he’s doing is incredibly brave, considering the vitriol that is coming his way. I, for one, want to say thank you to Mr. Comey. Trump is a nightmare. He is traumatizing our country, and must be defeated. I’m not criticizing anyone who comes forward to denounce him. Getting rid of Trump won’t be pretty, but get rid of him we must.
2
i would have expected a lot more from a former director of the FBI than a tit-for-tat book about Trump.
1
How could Mr. Comey promote a book of this nature about an attention-seeking, buffoon-like person like Mr. Trump without at least temporarily being on The View and other network shows?
Hey...Comey lost his job and he is entitled to make money any way he can to feed his family. His sins pale in comparison to those of his subject and to suggest otherwise is unfair and demeaning to a man who dedicated his career to public service ...compare that to General Bone Spurs' contributions to humanity.
1
I disagree. Comedy should not just "preach to the choir". By speaking a bit in Trumpese, he will peel off some of 45's ardent supporters who only listen to misogynist drivel. He mixes the two well. He needs to: his Great Mistake gave us the very worst person imaginable as the leader of our nation.
This whole article is just so much sophistry by a writer who has not spent his life serving the safety of Americans, and who has not been publicly and derisively smeared by Trump from day one. Is this why almost all the congressional reps have been so mealy-mouthed in criticizing Trump? Because they don't want to be "brought down to Trump's level?" Trump's big mouth has splattered how many people with humiliation and lies??? And most are too afraid to throw it back at him? The truth has become too dirty to tell, and people belonging to the FBI should not soil themselves telling it in its unvarnished unsavoriness? This no doubt is what everyone in Washington who might possibly have credibility in denouncing Trump are telling themselves as an excuse for holding their tongues. And Comey is right: Trump is incinerating American norms, ethics and principles daily. It takes a lot more courage to do what Comey is doing than it took to write this article.
2
Shucks! One can't blame him for making hay while the sun shines. He should clean up on the lecture circuit.
After watching the interview Comey should have kept his trap shut about the Hillary emails investigations and passed the info up the line. Let his boss, the AG, hang herself out to dry, which she did all by herself. It wasn't up to him to save the politicians.
Why is it that honorable men have to fight dishonorable men with both hands tied behind their backs? That's exactly how Trump became President and remains President; too many honorable people are afraid to engage in a knife-fight and the press, with Mr. Bruni as the prime example, are complicit in helping Trump.
Read and listen to Mr. Comey's words. He's using all of Trump's tricks, on Trump. You bloody a bully's nose. Wake up, Mr. Bruni!
2
Taking the high ground does not defeat bullies. The only way to beat Trump (apart from voting) is to go straight at him with everything you've got: ridicule him, taunt him, show him the contempt he uses on others. This notion that Comey is some sort of Nelson Mandela is nonsense. He's a shrewd political infighter, a guy who knows when to punch and when to hold back. He took on the Mob and Bush II's overreaching Justice Department. He ran the F.B.I. He's making more and more people realize what an ugly, unhinged liar and would-be autocrat Trump is. We should be cheering him on, not holding him to some "higher ground" - the terrain that has proven so unfruitful for so many Democrats.
2
So surprised at your view Mr.Bruni, to compare these two men is not possible. The towering (pun intended) figure of Comey vs. the cretin is laughable. Remember Comey had a long hx in law enforcement so his descriptions of hands,face and hair are what law enforcement officers observe and report. I'm delighted at the truth and the honest observations of drumps non character. Congress hiding behind closed doors obviously won't do it so thank God Comey has. Also the cretins base won't read the book anyway, they are so misguided that a comic book will suffice.
2
I think Comey is one of the few people standing up to Trump which is light years from what Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell are doing. I think Comey's "out of body" experience describes how awkward it must be for Kelly to deal with Trump.
I think Comey is an honest person who must have been good at his job. You don't get to be head of the FBI if you're a lying scoundrel. Imagine how awkward this whole thing is for Kelly.
I guess we'll never know but Kelly made a well intentioned and honest but huge mistake when he brought up Hilary Clinton's emails. I really wish he would accept responsibility for the inexplicable and inexcusable blunder.
7
I, for one, am happy he mentioned the obscene ties. Those ties make me nauseous. He does it on purpose; overcompensation for small hands I guess.
Trump is so UNFIT for the presidency. I've been using that word since he was elected and it was great to hear Comey say it straight out: UNFIT.
3
Trump obstructed justice when he fired Comey. But Comey is firing back, setting the record straight, with the subdued swagger of an honest, open, objective, even-tempered, hard-boiled detective.
Trump didn't succeed, Frank. He failed. Comey has succeeded. He is the one who is victorious. His book, his story, is a profile in courage, against an unscrupulous hack, a cheap carnie barker, shamelessly occupying the Oval Office shamefully. His presidency is a profile in cowardice.
Those who can, do. Those who can't criticize or, in Trump's case, tweet . . .
1
Frank, come down from your isolated ivory tower. Comey knows exactly what he is doing. He is hitting Trump in his soft spots: his masculinity, his Boehner bronze face and his hideous hair. Comey also knows the public eats up salacious foolishness.
You neglected two of the most upsetting aspects of the interview. Of the approximately 50-55 minute interview, about half was not an interview at all, just fluff. What does this tell us about the opinion ABC and/or Stephanopoulus has re the attention span of the American public and/or the limits of Stephanopoulus's ability to interview in depth.
Finally Frank, you do not mention at all Comey's totally unbelievable and unacceptable explanations of his actions re the Clinton emails and his hiding of the investigation into the possible interference of Russia in the election. Re the Clinton emails, Comey twice broke DOJ protocol in judging the result of the investigation and then reopening it. However, he did not think the Russian investigation was worthy of breaking protocol for a third time.
Trump reveals all for what it truly is.
All of America is James Comey. Our nation is being dragged through the mud by Donald Trump. All of us are dirty. Comey is in a position to show us all what we're up against and he pointed to the way out of the mud ring. Impeachment is too easy on us. We need to vote Trump and his enablers out of office.
1
"Showboating"?
Are you trying to scoop Trump?
Comey merely sets the record straight--on the facts big and small.
No doubt an important document for future historians.
1
During the Clinton "investigation," the Republicans screamed "He lied! He lied! He lied!" But now that we have a Republican President who lies every time he opens his mouth, over big matters and small, they say "Well, that's just the way he is." Hypocrisy has risen to new heights never seen before in the history of the world. The "partisanship" in Washington isn't party affiliation, it's delusional to the point of insanity.
1
I think I am going to disagree. Given that Trump's worst enemy is his own intemperate nature, I think Comey is simply baiting that hook even further.
Nothing outrages Trump more than someone getting more press than him. It's a simple sting operation, and Comey is playing the police officer posing as a hooker to lure in that all-too-easy mark.
How many legal experts have remarked that Trump is the star witness against himself? The more he talks, the deeper the hole gets. Would Cohen's stuff been raided if Trump hadn't opened his mouth and blabbed he knew nothing about the payment to Ms. Daniels?
Comey is playing Trump's game, but not for Trump's reasons.
2
A couple of million read the NYT - maybe several more million are on the web.
Mr. Bruni - it`s a new world. Comey -- and I`m not a fan -was smart to go on TV. This morning he was on every website ( I don`t have a TV) that I visited.
A+ for Comey.
1
Generally speaking, this article is a decent summary of where we are, and the deleterious effect Comey's grandstanding has had (and will have, to Mr. Trump's everlasting glee) on the view of Comey, the FBI and any notion of wrongdoing on Mr. Trump's part. Through his ill-considered and unremitting insertions of his very tall ego, Mr. Comey has in so many ways now assisted Mr. Trump in convincing a sizable, perhaps decisive, part of the voting public that Mr. Trump is a victim of a "Deep State" conspiracy. Mr. Comey will bear a large part of the responsibility for any allegation, or even proof, of wrongdoing by Mr. Trump being seen as an attempted “coup”.
You say: “ … he maintained a subdued, steady voice and communicated sadness more than anything else over Trump’s conduct in the White House.”
No. I did not see sadness. I saw quiet, calculated sanctimony and a calculated self-righteousness, a martyr-like demeanor, as if he were God’s chosen instrument. The only possible sadness was his being thwarted in his Mission by Mr. Trump being elected by a stupid citizenry, and seeing in Mr. Trump someone so inferior to himself as to make it worthwhile to publicly prostitute himself in order to destroy the President, thus establishing a permanent low bar for a former high government official. In other words, he descended to what many, including him, would characterize as Trump’s level.
He should have stayed quiet.
1
Mr. Comey communicated "sadness" over the President? Any sadness, or better, anger, should be over Mrs. Clinton and her gross mishandling of classified emails and her refusal to hand over about 33,000 subpoenaed emails.
Comey said: "...The challenge of this president is that he will stain everyone around him...." It included James Comey.
1
Frank, Comey has Tweety seething, obsessing, thrashing around, and having his customary "tweet tantrums" accompanied by loud, backup lies and name-calling from the WH buxom bullhorn Sanders and fact-free, never credible Conway. If these people are now angry, frightened and disoriented, now they know what the rest of us have felt like since Nov. 9, 2016.
Comey made a grave error and IMHO violated the Hatch Act when he reopened the Clinton email investigation eleven days before the last election. the consequences with which we all have to live. However, he has acted with apparent transparency, integrity and honesty throughout this disastrous "Trump Era", which is in complete contravention of both Tweety and the Congressional GOP.
The gist of his message remains "obstruction of justice" with respect to his own direct dealings with Trump prior to his firing and Trump's personal unfitness for the Presidency.
Hopefully, Mueller will be allowed to continue his investigation(s) into Russian meddling in our elections, the depth/breadth/scope of the Trump campaign collusion, the related felonious behavior of various Trump associates and potential outright treason of those involved with the Trump campaign.
Our Republic is as vulnerable as it has been at any time since the Civil War. Yes, we never expected to watch a TV interview with a former FBI Director on such a topic, but then we've never had our democracy as threatened by the likes of Putin and his chosen "Collaborator".
I have to laugh a little (bitterly) when reading today's op-ed pieces by Bruni and Blow (whom I normally like and agree with) where they complain about Comey's less than firm-jawed, steely-eyed FBI persona on the book tour he's on. Wasn't it the NYTimes that spent the whole of the election cycle playing to the Trump circus, all the while belittling Bernie Sanders and, ultimately, Hilary Clinton, too? Look what happened with that. Now you want to do the same to Comey because he's got the chutzpah to call it as he sees it? I, too, am still angry at his last minute sabotage of the election but I'm happy that someone is calling this colossal phony out publicly.
1
The description of DT's hands, hair, skin color etc was cringeworthy and detracted from his story. The image of the FBI has been tainted by a number of people, including Comey.
Frank, I think your reaching ... and nit-picking. He wasn’t stepping down to Trumps level; he was stepping up to the plate. Us Libs love to intellectualize things to death. Comey threw some deft counter punches. Nice to see someone taller, stronger, and with larger hands take some well placed jabs and hooks at the Prez. Frank, DJT is running riot: to date only the media and the loyal opposition are daring to stand up to him. Former FBI Director James Comey is standing tall in more ways than one.
2
Short of illegal actions, I don't care how low Comey has to go to help us save the country.
1
You've devoted an entire column to such a minor issue, thus abetting its transformation into a major issue. Congratulations. Well done pettiness, just as you've accused Comey.
Comey is making hay while the Sun shines. His self-righteous indignation at losing his job and his 'Al Haig moments' in 2016 vis a vis HRC email probes, all show what DT said about him is true: he's a showboat; takes one to know one. While Comey is not morally bankrupt like the scandalous, vulgar man in the Oval office, he has degraded himself through this shameless promotion of his tell all tome. Oh well, let's give him his 15 minutes in the spotlight and send him off to a comfortable retirement.
The most effective meddling in the 2016 election, bar none, was this presumptuous twit's conclusion that Hillary would be seen as an illegitimate president if he didn't divulge this cache of forgotten e-mails on Anthony Weiner's computer the week before the election she was supposedly certain to win.
He should have ulcers.
Oh p-u-u-u-l-e-e-a-s-e!
This is just like Charles Blow's column yesterday, trying to show his moral superiority over both Trump and Comey.
Trump has already shown that "small arms fire" don't do any damage to him.
And why shouldn't Comey allude to the Steel dossier, which the right wing has apparently been able to muffle into silence despite the fact that the relevant intelligence agencies regard it as credible.
Comey's basic point is that Trump has only Trump in mind, and not the commonweal, which is the essence of his job description!
Sure, the right will cherry pick what Comey says to use it against him for those people who watch only Fox News.
But you shouldn't be doing their work for them, Frank.
Get over it. This issue is not about your sense of propriety. The fate of the country and its institutions are at stakes.
As Mayor Daley put it, "Politics ain't beanbag."
So stem aside and let Comey go at Trump with howitzers.
Will The Empire strike back?
Of course.
But every time he opens his mouth Trump runs the risk of really spilling the beans. Which he has been doing all along as it is. Sure, his base hasn't noticed, but you can bet Robert Mueller sure has!
I would add that this was never about being POTUS for Trump. It was about working up his bona fides for Vlad so that he could get Trump Towers licensed in Russia.
And now that he's POTUS, Vlad is clearly hovering over him in blackmail fashion, at least in his fevered imagination, wet sheets and all.
2
Forgive me for saying so, but this article seems dangerously close to picking at nits. OK, so some of the stuff Comey said and wrote was petulant and catty - so what? It's not Comey's behavior we should be focusing on. It's Trump's. Comey's book is just one more confirmation of what every sane American who truly cares about their country has known all along: Donald Trump is an immoral, dishonest, and pathologically narcissistic train wreck of a human being who is not fit to lead this country (or any other).
I don't care if Comey has debased himself. He's exposing Trump for what he is. That makes him OKin my book.
2
Comey is talking like cops talk to bad guys in the police station, and how former cops get to talk about bad guys in public. Quelle horreur.
Are we "nitpicking" Comey's style? Fine, he may have said something inapropriate (in a five hour interview it could happen) But let's not lose sight of the substance! Plenty of pundits are doing just that...!
I understand the point: "never wrestle with a pig.....":-) but remember also: "Why do you nitpick at the straw in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in Trump's eye"...:-)
2
Get a day job, Bruni. This article is long on pettiness, and short on thought. Trump versus Comey, who cares. But for the record, Trump's victory was a pyrrhic one.
1
Oh, phooey! If it's so awful for Trump to do the things he's done (and it is), then why is there a problem with anybody--including the NYT--saying so? As for the book tour, why shouldn't he make some money off it? I don't remember anything this prissy when Woodward and Bernstein brought out "The Final Days," their account of the end of the Nixon presidency.
1
Frank, while I appreciate your efforts to maintain the high ground in your columns, this one disappoints me.
Your choice of title is so defeatist. "Comey is Trump's Ultimate Victory". Can't your hear the Fox machine, and the other sleaze news outlets, repeating this with glee?
Even Trump must be thrilled with your contribution to his illusory self-righteousness.
Of course Comey is going to mention personal observations in a book length treatise. I don't consider them counterproductive. And I prefer Comey's spunk to the 'politically correct' narrative too many pundits cling to.
1
"Trump personalizes everything. Ideas don’t joust. People do. And it’s vanity, not verities, at stake. With the way that Comey has written his book, which charts every last tremor of his conscience, and the staging of his appearances in promotion of it, he has abetted his own transformation from a crucial witness to a character in the serial drama and nonstop spectacle of Trump’s life."
What does this even mean? The nation has for the most part sat back since the disastrous election night. The people who are doing something about the calamity we ended up with are a small minority. Comey is a straight shooting public servant and by coming out in the media with his sensational book, he is fighting Trump in his own game. The times for niceties have long passed. Come is not an abettor but a realistic chess player who knows how to switch between strategy and tactics. My advice to all in the coming elections is to vote for candidates that are going to move this country towards democracy from the pathetic oligarchy it has allowed to rule it. Go with the progressives in November and definitely consider Bernie Sanders/Elizabeth Warren for 2020.
2
I disagree. Comey has written a book and is marketing it in the environment of today. Trump has lowered the bar on truth and decency and sunk to puerile attacks and displayed his ignorance, and this seems to be acceptable behaviour in American society. Perhaps Comey is not promoting his book only in lofty terms to get buyers and readers in this dumbed down tabloid environment of the US today. Given the shabby way he was fired, aside from the motivation behind it to close down the threat held by the Russia investigation against Trump, I would give him some leeway. There is no moral equivalence between Comey and Trump any more than there was between both sides in Charlottesville. Perhaps the hands reference was an attempt at humour. Comey made errors in judgement, but I accept that he thought he was doing the right thing. I also accept his imperfections as human as were his reactions to the odious man in the White House. This book and Comey's conduct are anything bout a victory for Trump. The seedy aspects of the story are because they are about a seedy and vulgar man.
1
Comey has written a book and is marketing it in the environment of today. The problem is he is not an author marketing his wares in the environment of today, he was a public servant that wrote a tell all book about a sitting president that he constantly had friction with. Very public arguments. He has turned into his own PR machine just like Trump.
I'm with you on this one Mr. Bruni. It was hard to listen to Director Comey making ad hominim attacks against Trump. Trump is such loser it felt like shooting fish in a barrel. Director Comey devoted his career to America and its ideals. At this point, I would consider the Director an elder statesman and hold him to a higher standard. Unless our statesmen and women educate the electorate in civil discourse and reverence for the Constitution and the rule of law, we should expect more con men and grifters in the oval office and the halls of Congress.
Whenever Russians write about their experiences in the KGB or law enforcement it tends to be a best selling book and might even wind up as a movie. The Trump administration has spawned numerous books of interest and if any generate movies, no one can say which one will. The tempo of book publishing is brisk this early into a president's administration, as if the general overall view will be determined by reading all books on Trump. Autographed copies are probably collectible.
Mr. Comey is not the FBI director. He is now a private citizen with unique exposure and historical perspective. He has a personal story to tell that sheds light on a very dark period for the American presidency. Liberals who saw Trump’s victory coming early on (think Michael Moore) knew nothing about emails or Russian collusion, so its disingenuous to now blame Comey for the Hillary debacle. Behind Comey’s perceived grandiose posture are long held ideals of integrity and honesty. Does he have a bone to pick? Sure . Who wouldn’t? The president has no moral backbone or higher ideals to have people aspire to. The description of Trump humanizes Comey, yet the media and many others prefer to pick a fight and highlight dishonesty and ulterior motives. There’s a double standard when the founding fathers are revered as patriots with flaws when seen through 21st century eyes, yet Comey is crucified. He is a true patriot answering the call of duty. And yes, he’s also human.
3
Mr. Comey admits to taking materials from his employment at the FBI and leaking them to the press. How many of you readers who work for a responsible organization are allowed to remove confidential information and publish it?
1
I cringed when I read Comey's comments about such irrelevant issues as Trump's hands and eye-bags. Mr. Bruni clarified just what is wrong with Comey's new found willingness to fight in the gutter.
1
I don't believe it's an example of the same sort of behavior as Trump's. That's too easy. Trump is off the charts. Some of Comey's personal comments on Trump make him appear silly, yes. But let's face it, these are not normal times. How does one effectively fight a bully and still retain one's job? I agree that he could have been more direct in his responses to DT.
Odd times. In these times, some of us are rooting for the racist Jeff Sessions to retain his job; and some of us (Bruni perhaps) see the FBI as merely heroic, when in fact the history of the agency is littered with stories of questionable, even illegal, behavior toward American citizens or immigrants, i.e., unconstitutional behavior, especially under J. Edgar Hoover. Compared to Hoover, Comey is a citizen-saint. Let him sell his book--why not?
2
I'm with you, Frank.
It never works to get down in the mud with the mud-slingers. Or as Michelle O would say, "They do low, we go high."
Comey should have conducted himself as Mueller has. Shut up and rise above it. Follow your law enforcement training and get over your desire for revenge.
Remember that truth ultimately wins in its own time.
When somebody is the president, the "opponent" unfortunately will always be playing an "away" game, and with Trump, you are always going to get filthy and possibly demean yourself in the process.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't compete.
Everybody thought Sonny Liston and Mike Tyson were "invincible" until somebody pierced their aura of invincibility and put them on the canvas.
Comey is doing fine (although admittedly I'm not a fan), and Trump's time is coming.
Just as Trump is "authentic" in his own singularly perverse and grotesque fashion, so is Comey, in his own aw shucks, earnestly insipid eagle scout way.
I don't agree that this is a victory for Trump.
Comey's being Comey. Don't let the fact that his lack of flamboyance and anti-charisma convince you that Trump has won another round.
We need people to keep stepping into the ring, and to do it in their own way. Comey is at least doing that.
1
I liked how he concluded re the tanning goggles and orange face, not because of my political views (well, mostly not) but because it gave me a quick sense of the way of thinking of the former FBI director, using his powers of observation and focused on what was in front of him. Like Sherlock Holmes.
1
Being rational and honest in dealing with Trump is a losing proposition. Stormy Daniels among others has shown that name-calling, below-the-belt humor and dirty innuendos are the only ways to verbally fight the President. I think that Comey has found the right mix of serious criticism and low sallies... as Trump's violent reaction shows.
1
Opinion pieces like this merely reflect how Trump has gotten into everyone's head. I give Comey credit for seeing it as his duty to the country to publicly say what Trump is, and he does it truthfully, if not humbly enough for all. Yet Trump wins because the press begins to echo his arguments, just like it gleefully blew Hillary Clinton's emails far out of proportion and lent them false equivalency to Trump's monstrous corruption. I have seen multiple spins on Comey in this vein. I thought you guys had learned, yet here we are again, equating Comey's pointing out Trump's little hands with Trump hurling "slimeball" at Comey from the Oval office, among countless other indecencies. The people who support Trump aren't the only gullible ones.
1
All Comey has done is proven he's human. Why should any person have to endure the vituperation and blatant lies emanating from Trump's big mouth and little fingers?
Frankly, if those who have been subjected to Trump's verbal and Twitter abuse had fought back more on his level, I doubt so many of those millions of the Americans who voted for and continue to support him would have done so or still be doing so.
In any case I don't appreciate Mr. Bruni's goody-two shoes approach to human relations and politics. It's a tough, brutal business, especially dealing with a thug, if not mobster boss like Trump. People like me don't see Comey's current fighting back on Trump's level and terms as "self-righteousness"; we see it as giving back to Trump at least as good as he gave and surely deserves.
Not all of America admires or wishes to go high when the other side goes low (sorry Obamas). Many of us believe in fighting back and not being bulled. So I congratulate Comey on standing up to Trump's ugliness even if some of Comey's responses fall below the snooty standards NYT columnists. I hope Comey keeps it up and that we liberals can just shut up for once and support the guy. He deserves our empathy, not criticism.
Columns like this only lend credence to the pejorative term applied to us liberals by Trump supporters: "snowflakes".
1
Agreed. I feel deflated when the guy I'm counting on to right the ship goes slumming. Hand size, hair style, and skin color, had no place in this most serious situation. How could such a bright man fail to see this?
Jim Comey's book perhaps titillated a tad
But he received tweets all too nasty and bad
It seems quite clear who is honorable in this telling
And curses in 140 characters will not change that feeling
It (election) wasn’t even supposed to be close. The NYT was quoting 80% or more chance of Hillary winning for weeks. And she did win by 3 million votes.
Lighten up Mr. Bruni. Mr. Comey is so mild mannered compared to Trump it’s not even close.
1
He showed bad judgment in making those remarks. It calls into question his other judgments in the FBI. It also shows his arrogance. He keeps speaking of the independence of the FBI in a way that would make J Edgar Hoover proud.
There is no way to discuss Trump and his sycophants without sounding insulting. In the late 1990s, there was no way to discuss Bill Clinton’s impropriety without sounding cheap and sleazy, but we are way beyond that here. Yet to keep silent is to be complicit.
1
Bruno is not only overreacting to an element of pettiness in Comey's generally courageous, straight shooting and poised book, he is with his replies to posted comments overreacting to his readers to an extent extreme in the annals of the Times e-Opinion section. Indeed in his overreaction he misses the key flaw in Comey's account, elevation of an idiosyncratic and perhaps self-serving sensitivity to the reputation of the FBI over DOJ norms for the prevention of FBI intrusion into electoral outcomes, denial of his own grave abuse of just such a "higher" commitment (in early July-2016 and late October-2016) to U.S. institutions as he correctly Trump for continuously abusing.
1
Looks like I'm a minority here, but I agree with you. There was no need for him to mention the hands, the hair, the sunlamp "tan," when we all can see it. And he comes across as much too anxious to tell us how perfect he is. Just tell us what you did and let us decide if it was right.
It is amazing to me that Republicans and conservatives can overlook the virtual cesspool of Trump vulgarities, offenses, unpresidential behavior, even criminal behavior (defrauding American citizens)...but moderates, liberals, and Democrats just cannot bring themselves to ignore the most minor part of Comey's book and focus on the important parts. They did this with Hillary Clinton as well. What is wrong with Democrats always needing to makes sure we're do-gooders who address every little flaw to prove to Republicans that we are not them. They're not going to ever play by the rules of decent people, esp. where Donald Trump is concerned. So stop with the fainting spells over Comey mentioning Trump's skin color and Hillary's ...I don't know what, no one has actually ever said, and get to work on making sure this lunatic is not re-elected.
4
Comey is human after all. It seems Frank wants Comey to be a hero of some sort--perhaps akin to Jefferson Smith in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"? Sure, I also wish Comey was infallible, maybe then we'd have Hillary as president. But to compare anyone outside of another thug to Trump isn't rational.
2
It seemed pretty obvious that the catty bits were to insure that Trump would lose his cool when he struck back, and hey, it worked.
2
Whatever Comey s intentions were, unwillingly he will be remembered as the man who chose the American 45th President who was not prepared to run the country.
Lesson to be learned in 2016 election, never ever take anything for granted in life.
1
It is curious, perhaps hypocritical, to use an ad hominem argument to attack Comey's use of ad hominem. Comey does have more useful things to say about the state of the White House than the sidebar arguments. It is useful to have someone with the right credentials to point out that we now have a president, a dangerous president, with zero credibility. Frank Bruni, with no apparent sense of irony, attempts to flail Comey, using the very tactics he portends to loathe. Todd from Wisconsin is quite right. We need credible people who are not afraid of bully streetfighters.
1
I agree with Bruni. Comey is diminishing himself, but I think he already did that in 2016. It was not just his announcement just before the election. His amazingly vitriolic attack of Hillary in July, when he announced that the investigation was over. Attacking a subject of an investigation when you've decided NOT to prosecute is simply not done-- unless you're J. Edgar Comey trashing Hillary Clinton. Comey lessened my views of the FBI (and the media) for not calling him out for that outrageous behavior. He got his comeuppance -- or Comey-uppance, as I like to say, when he was fired by President Spanky.
Whatever can damage Trump and is legal is fine by me. Maybe this gutter talk will Bring around a few Trump fans. Nothing else has worked.
1
Nothing wrong with Comey getting under trump's nano-thin skin after the non-stop barrage of insults from trump and trump zealots, loss of his livelihood in a most offensive insulting manner and giving the offender in chief a tiny dose of the poison he dishes out with such callous largess and malice - obviously tough guy trump can't take it!
Of course ABC News and the media have focused on few of the most salient and provocative points - what else would trump focus on, the majority substance? Comey is demonstrating - not goading - trump for the kind of human he is. Trump's behavior is not on Comey. Obama and Hillary's silence have not protected them from infantile taunts and insults.
For the rest of us, it is satisfying to finally see the human side of Comey standing up against the inhuman side of trump.
2
While I too am concerned about this devaluing Comey as a witness for the special prosecutor I do enjoy seeing Trump trolled & hysterical. Trump enjoys food fights as long as he’s the one throwing it, being on the receiving end, not so much. There’s a liberal affectation I’m not a big fan off, it’s the I’m too good to confront the bullies on their turf. It was evident in the “they go low, we go high” tenor of Clinton’s campaign & we all know how that turned out. You don’t have to talk like Trump but you sure do have to get right up & in his face and let him know your not intimidated by all that cowardly bluster.
2
He's an author. he just produced a book, which is darn hard work. Why do you expect him to act any differently than any other author on a book-selling tour? And as for his speech and choice of terms, for heaven's sake, he's spent a lifetime dealing with the lowlifes of the world and I'd imagine he has a feel for sussing out the value of a man. Trump's has gone through the floor . . .
3
This is a valid perspective, but as the evangelicals have done with Trump, let’s give Mr. Comey a “mulligan”. The effectiveness of Trump’s use of the Roy Cohn playbook is that no one is permitted to say any negative thing against him, lest that person be willing to endure a fusillade of hate spewed responses. So what is an otherwise decent, professional person like Comey do when he attempts to act in the best interests of the FBI and the nation, only to have Trump disparage his reputation publically? The professional thing to do is to stay mute, but that only encourages Trump to continue his scorched-earth responses to any perceived slights.
Yes, Mr. Bruni, you are right that Comey could have done without the “small hands” reference and others in his book. But I for one am pleased that SOMEONE, in addition to Stormy Daniels, is letting his anger show about how this “sleezeball” president treats other human beings.
1
I share your cringe. I am glad Comey is speaking up because no one else seems to have the courage to call a liar a liar. I believe him when he said he didn't plan to write a book. But if he kept quiet, he would be complicit in "normalizing" Trump's utter lack of morality or respect for the truth. But I wish he had not included such petty descriptions of Trump's physical features. It doesn't add anything to what he is trying to tell in the book -- i.e. what makes a good leader. It just makes him small, as if he's been dying to settle scores.
US politics long ago became an inferior soap opera. Trump is the latest and worst manifestation of this. Why blame Comey for speaking in the accepted language?
Unfortunately if you are a regular Fox watcher which a number of my fiends are, including a respected dr, none of Comey's words about Trump are being believed. tRump and Fox have 40% of our country hypnotized.
1
Disagree with Mr. Bruni. James Comey bites back by giving Trump a taste of his own medicine by describing his hairdo - "He had — impressively coiffed hair, it looks to be all his. I confess, I stared at it pretty closely and my reaction was, “It must take a heck of a lot of time in the morning, but it’s impressively coiffed.”' that must take Trump hours." Are we forgetting how Trump savagely ridiculed a physically disabled reporter by mimicking his body movements, or how he brands people he hates with derogatory names. The best of Comey's interview was when he was asked if he thought Trump was fit to be president. I liked his response that he was MORALLY UNFIT to be president. Here is a direct quote from James Comey: "“I don’t think he is medically unfit to be President – I think he’s morally unfit to be President.” “A person who sees moral equivalence in Charlottesville, who talks about and treats women like they’re pieces of meat, who lies constantly about matters big and small and insists the American people believe it, that person’s not fit to be president of the United States, on moral grounds. And that’s not a policy statement. I don’t care what your views are on guns, or immigration, or taxes,” Comey said, insisting it’s far more important that “Our president must embody respect and adhere to the values that are at the core of this country. The most important being ‘truth.’ This President is not able to do that. He is morally unfit to be President.”
3
Comey diminishes himself with the personal comments about Trump. I keep thinking "Huh. Maybe it was just ego driven narcissism that prompted his Hillary-destroying behavior before the election and not high minded patriotism from a humble servant as he strove to project in his begging to differ, protesting too much demeanor..."
I have no problem with Comey writing a book and making money. I have a big problem with how he handled the Hillary deal.
Comey seems quite adapt at crossing lines. He condemned Hillary Clinton at the moment he announced to the world that there would be no indictment. ("Joe Smith apparently did not commit murder, but he's certainly the kind of guy who could.") He unnecessarily announced to the world that he was re-opening the investigation of her and then, shortly later, announced, "Hey, you know what? Nothing there. Move along folks."
He has the looks and the record, along with towering height, of a serious man. His firing across Trump's bow, however, is a clear attempt to get back at Trump and bring him down even lower by goading into doing and saying stupid things (Trump needs help with that?).
This is a mess. Calling it a mud fight is too nice and using more vivid language that would fit the case would be vulgar. Monkeys in cages behave better.
Trump bellowed in to Washington, DC, attacking the very agencies he would need to succeed as president, an idiotic move. Now, those he attacked, and many that he fired, are engaged in a battle to allow him to mess up so greatly that his presidency comes to an effective end long before he is to leave office. Trump deserves it, but we all deserve something better than this rolling disaster of an American moment.
1
Is there anyone who has interacted with Trump who doesn't get tainted in some way? So far, he seems to be batting 1000%, and that, of course, includes Comey.
History will indubitably excoriate the vile Trump, but it will not be kind to Comey either. That being said, and although Comey is a flawed character, I'm not unhappy to hear Comey calling out Trump, and even making some big bucks for himself in the process. Anything that reminds voters of what an execrable human being Trump is . . . is fine with me.
At least Comey is real, honest, and true to his disgust for Trump, as so many of us are. That's not showboating; that's integrity. He is an authentic leader; look it up: it's actually a type, and it is revered. He is - in old-fashioned terms - wholesome and as unphony as they come. His greatest strength is also his greatest human weakness - and we should respect his humanity, not ridicule it.
2
Thank you Comey for telling it like it is. Comey is an investigator. The context of his description of Trump is what a career investigator would do when meeting someone he has heard about for a long time in the press for the first time. Trump is in cahoots with Putin and that needs to be shouted from the tallest building. I agree with Comey that white supremacist Trump is morally unfit to lead this nation. Anyone who supports Trump enables his evil. Comey may not be perfect but his light years a more decent human being than Trump!
3
The peculiarity of Trump is that he doesn't just terminate an employee, he feels obliged to defame them. In my working life I have never seen an adult like him. Quality people have been terminated by him in the last year and he rips people up like a toddler in a nursery school that is having a tantrum. I hope that we never see a sitting executive with so little class again in the United States.
1
Thank you so very much DJT for “Making America Great Again.”
Ain’t it wonderful?
He probably will help solve the immigration problem, because who wants to come to this embarrassing country these days?
1
I’ll trust the trained FBI straight arrow to know what he’s doing...Especially when it comes to manipulating and exposing a criminal suspect...
Let’s see how this plays out before criticizing Comey’s modus operandi...
The man should leave the country for a self imposed exile for his own sake. It will take a generation for this nation to recover from the results of his hubris.
His name will be forever identified with the curse of the Trump election.
I am happy that Comey wrote the book and is speaking in plain, certain terms what we all know; Trump is morally unfit for the office and is a habitual liar. Trump degrades and diminishes the entire country. However, the ultimate irony is that Comey helped tip the election in Trump's favor and he does not have a ton of insight regarding that.
1
You are spot on Mr. Bruni!! Thank you for voicing so well, what I have been feeling. That "interview" last night was so dissapointing ... Reminded me of how Trump got here in the first place. Those ridiculous, simplistic, non substantiative republican "debates". TV theater. Chock full of shallow suggestions, and exhausting in its constant cuts to an inundation if commercials. No hard journalism. No strong interviewing. No real conversation. Insulting to average intelligence and the ability to discern and ponder. It all feels like propaganda. Not to say I dont believe Mr. Comey, but it was absolutely on par, (and therefore sub par) to Trump (lack of) mentality. The soap opera continues. And I've had it with broadcast news lite programming. We should all be ashamed.
1
I hated what Comey did to Hillary Clinton.
Having said that, what would we expect from James Comey right now?
Anyone who has been affected by Donald Trump will need a long, long time to work it out mentally. Comey needs more time. He’s still in the midst of his own betrayal, which he feels as his country’s betrayal. He hasn’t had time to differentiate between Donald Trump’s insanity and its effects.
Surely Priebus, Mc Masters, Tillerson, and many others have become “tetched” (as they used to say) too, to some extent, having come anywhere near close to Trump. Trump is poisonous, toxic.
It’s all part of abuse. Something Donald Trump uses in his power, no matter where he is.
Very sad the Republicans who have been elected and paid by the people of the United States allow this abusive monster to cast his craziness on this nation, bit by bit.
The Comey relationship is just one example. Comey’s just trying to recover.
Someday there’ll be the Trump’s Anonymous group to attend. Should be well attended, too.
2
I fear Comey's comment that those who surround Trump will invariably be stained by their proximity to this corrosive creature already applies to Comey himself.
The worst you can say of Mr. Comey is that he made some mistakes.
The best you can say of President Trump is that he is a mistake.
3
No, Comey has not "joined" the president in any important sense. The main difference between them and their actions remain. Comey speaks the truth as he sees it. Trump lies like a rug. If the former director of the FBI says that Trump is not fit to be president, he has facts on which to base his opinion. Trump has nothing but empty insults.
1
While I agree in principle with the arguments Mr. Bruni makes in the above article, I must admit that it is absolutely refreshing to see Trump and the RNC freaking out after getting a little taste of their own medicine. Trump, and much of the GOP, have grown to expect the Democratic unspoken rule of "They Go Low, We Go High" to dictate a civil and measured response from those they spew vitriol at. In this case, I say 'Good for you, Jim Comey!'
2
I'm tiring of the NYT and CNN narrative that this is a war between Trump and Comey. Surely, Trump has the advantage as he tweets daily and he insults and defames such that only a middle school bully could relate . For Comey to say that the Russians may have compromising material on Trump is hardly fighting on level ground. Everything else he said we've heard before.
I'm no Comey fan, as he's fallible but he is honest. Frank Bruni, stop equivocating. That was the fault of the NYT during the election. Trump is at war with the truth. Don't compare others to him. Our country will suffer from his action for decades, not from Comey's book. It will be forgotten in a month, unlike DJT. Comey deserves a week to fight back, as does Andrew McCabe.
2
There's no question in my mind that Comey is simply needling Trump at every turn. Some of Comey"s responses were clearly aimed at an audience of one
1
It's uncanny how similar our own reaction to the Comey "interview" was. The ex-FBI director has fallen into a dubious Trumpian trap of sorts. Too bad, as at this historical juncture the country as a whole deserves a lot better. Has Mr. Trump achieved the unmatched feat of having others, critics or non-critics, copy his vulgarity and spiral descent into the public gutter? Good grief!
"I am big. Its the pictures that got small."
-Norma Desmond
Frankly, Bruni has not yet seen the new Comey role as part of a 21st Century Untouchables strategy. Which other relevant and well recognised former Fed would suit Bruni better in possessing the lamented-for media-polished skills?
Happy mackerels - Comey was an outstanding public servant - not perfect. Comey deserves respect in the main.
Whereas Trump deserves only a decisive kick out of office.
Comey is just telling it as it is re: Trump.
OK I agree references to things like hands and face could have been muted - but good golly Trump makes fun of everybody - and he is supposedly POTUS.
Comey is now a civilian and why not add a little sugar to draw the kids into the schooling he's giving the Nation re: our fearless leader.
We have to stop normalizing the abhorrently abnormal Trump while we demonize and castigate the normal decent people that happen to not do everything perfectly PC but who on balance serve the higher interests of humankind.
1
Sorry, Bruni, wrong again: Comey has revealed what was always there. Just took the right man to reveal it. Not pretty is it, especially when Comey's fellow McCabe left disgraced for life? And all for Hillary's benefit, so they thought.
O, "lordy", how Trump turned the tide on the entire DNC Politburo fleet sailing the Washington Swamp, FBI et al.
1
Easy for Frank to take the high road. He still has his job. Comey does not. What's the guy supposed to do? Remain stoic and mow his lawn forever?
1
Frank, Frank, Frank. Do you really believe Donald Trump invented the current political discourse. Mr. Trump is a result of a long slow descent to whatever sells. Mr. Bruni compare what TV broadcasts into homes over the last 50 years. Morals and values have evolved and changed and Mr. Trump has taken notice. Journalists need to accept they no longer have a share of the bully pulpit. I started reading The Times because of Russell Baker. Mr. Brunei you are no Russell Baker, but like Mr. Trump and Mr. Comedy you have become comfortable and wealthy playing mostly to the cheap seats.
1
No one in USA politics has ever seen a creature like Trump running for the highest office in the land. The other republican candidates didn't know how to respond to him in the debates, as they stood frozen as he mugged, laughed, and made fun of them. Trump is a bully. The only way to deal with a bully is to stand up to them and push back, hard! I think that's what Comey is trying to do in his book, push back at the narcissistic bully. Comey decided to let go of the proper, educated, articulate FBI mask and meet Trump on his own level. I think it was a conscious decision by Comey to include what he included and say it as he did. Good for him!
1
"But in succumbing to this sort of showboating and spite, hasn’t Comey joined Trump almost as much as he’s defying him? Comey says that he means to shine a spotlight on what leadership should and shouldn’t be, and I hope that’s the long-term takeaway of the “Higher Loyalty” rollout and all the hours and miles being devoted to it. But right now I’m cringing at a food fight." Answer to your question: "Well, no, it doesn't."
Would you prefer that Comey had not written the book? Doesn't your column just prolong the "food fight?" Are you not making your nickel as a columnist in just the same way that you accuse Comey of making his with the book? Maybe a better title for your column than the catchy "Comey is Trump's Ultimate Victory" (bloviating at its finest) would be "Honey, I Shrunk the NYT."
1
Frank Bruni is an intelligent, thoughtful, lucid writer. However, I think he's off-target here -- especially in his contention that James Comey's book fails because it plays at Trump's game (i.e., two wrongs don't make a right). The consequence of Mr. Comey's counterpunch, says Mr. Bruni, is that "the president gets the better of [Comey]."
No, Mr. Bruni.
Rather, James Comey's book succeeds precisely because it confronts Trump objectively (factually) and without concern for fallback -- its sole aim to further reveal the facts about our Morally Unfit president.
"Further" is the key word here.
The spineless GOP has not, and will not, take on Tyrant Trump, because he has these good ol' boy colleagues wrapped around his fingers, and in submission. Thus it has become necessary for objective truth-seekers (and honorable resisters) like James Comey (and Robert Mueller, and the vigilant press, etc.) to challenge Trump -- and to keep challenging him until he either resigns, or is removed from office. Mr. Comey's book FURTHERS this necessary cause.
With his courageous words that are mightier than swords, Mr. Comey does not [as Mr. Bruni contends] "descend". Rather, Mr. Comey soars.
2
The one objective accomplished by Comey is that he is allowing the viewer or the reader to make up their own mind about him without the soothsayer or pundit class weighing in.Whether it is Frank Bruni, Chris Matthews or Sean Hannity-all appear to be particularly angered by this transgression
1
At least Comey's distracting Trump's attention away from Mueller at a crucial time in the Russia investigation. This gives Mueller a little more breathing room. That's a plus no matter what you think of Comey and the facts and opinions he gave.
1
Your playing into Trump’s hands, yourself, Mr. Bruni, by denigrating James Comey so that Trump can point at your and Charles Blow’s op-eds, and say, “See, even the failing NYT agrees with me that Comey deserved to be fired.”
Why the double standard for the media and media promontory his book?
Why shouldn’t Comey go on Good Morning America or The View so that the general public should hear him? Why shouldn’t he mention the diminutive size of Trump’s hands or the Moscow Ritz tapes that we all await eagerly? After all, the media blitz on these details has been on a grand scale.
In his desire to tell his side of the story, Comey wants to come down from the lofty pillars to appear a faithful public servant who had difficult decisions to make in very troubling times. His love of this country concomitant with his commitment to the Justice Department gives him great stature. Admittedly, he described himself as a human with flaws as which of us is not? But as much as I enjoy your and Charles Blow’s editorials, I think that you are demanding more from Comey than from Trump. Let’s keep the focus on the whirlwind in the White Housethat threatens to destroy us all
1
There's no way around it: when the emperor wears no clothes, any honest opinion about his nakedness is bound to offend.
I believe at least one of Comey's goals when he mentions those "low road" comments around his tiny hands, orange skin and unusual hair is to goad Trump into losing just a little bit more control. He has notoriously poor impulse control on a good day and he hasn't had a good day in a very long time. It's like Comey has a long stick and is poking the bear in the cage, over and over again. It should be interesting. Whatever works to get this man out of the WH.
1
Already sick of this. Constant bickering, name calling & tweeting from all parties. Sick and tired. I long for the smoke filled conventions when they worked things out in a less destructive manner. Where are we heading? I realize that white males were in those conventions, that has changed, but we do need to work things out, as families do on a daily basis.
Sadly, you are right. Comey mistook his reputation for integrity as a license to go on his own tour de slime. It must have felt good at the time. History however will show a man incinerating his hard-earned moral authority under the heat of Trump’s own dumpster fire. And Mueller? He must be positively seething.
Bruni is wrong. It is time someone stood upnwith his own story - no matter what you think Frank - with the only kind of language and treatment that the orange bully recognizes. Comey is smart enough to know exactly what he's doing. Poking the big guy in the eye the same way that bully treat others. I say hooray for James Comey.
i don't buy your premise..... the way the media sensationally plays word bites from the book may be stooping to trump's level but the words coming from comey's mouth are reasoned and based on comey's moral fabric. i do believe though that he is drawing trump out. he knows well what buttons to push and what sores to salt to get the king of the twitterverse raging in public.i expect in private trump is saying - "will no one rid me of this meddlesome G-man?"
I watched the interview and I didn’t get the sense that Coney was being catty when asked to describe his initial impressions of Trump upon meeting him in person. Rather, I thought he sounded like someone whose job it is to be extremely observant- someone in the intelligence field, perhaps, or a cop describing the appearance and demeanor of a person of interest.
I believe Mr Comey's decision to publicly reopen the Hilary Clinton e-mail investigation 11 days before the 2016 national election--a breach of normal procedure--was bizarre at best and criminal at worst. In any event he brought America its first game-show President.
So, Mr Comey's "showboating" behavior in responding to Mr Trump and his carefully plotted hustle of his book release appear to me no more than a pattern of behavior.
He is just another guy who needs attention. And he doesn't need to alert America that D Trump is reprehensible. We've all figured it out by now.
Thanks, Director.
A former FBI director probably should hold off on writing any books for several years after he or she leaves office. Comey's leap into literature is clearly nothing more than an attempt to get back at Trump for firing him and an attempt to resurrect his tattered reputation.
It is clear that Comey's activities -- along with other high ranking FBI individuals (McCabe,Strzok, Page) during the 2016 election are very problematic and bring into question Comey's credibility as director. His decision to publicly excoriate but not indict HRC was certainly out of bounds behavior as was his October surprise of temporarily reopening the investigation.
To argue that the FBI isn't politicized is naive. Comey has a lot to answer for. And a book that is apparently based on Comey's opinions and memos to file is hardly fact based.
Comey is behaving inappropriately. That Trump strikes out at him is not surprising as Comey struck first, and without cause.
And for those defending Comey -- remember the left would have gladly had him ridden out of DC on a rail in Oct 2016.
Come on, Mr. Bruni. Give Mr Comey the credit he deserves. Here is a man with an admirable life in a position of high responsibility in our government who had the courage and moral fortitude to stand up and tell the truth about our despicable President. Aside from Senator Jeff Flake, I don't see anyone else exhibiting this level of courage in the federal government.
So he didn't ride in on a white horse, and so he isn't perfect? Does everyone now get cut down at the knees if they stick their head above the bunker wall?
Statues should be erected to Mr. Comey. He should not be attacked for trying to find the moral path and follow it, however imperfectly.
23
Frank may not want to say it, but no matter how you feel about Trump, Comey sounds and acts like a scorned political hack. As someone said yesterday, he seems to believe his own press clippings and can't square many of his actions with the truth.
I appreciate your concern, and your effort to suggest that standards do still exist, but staying too far above the fray has its own risks. The balance between not publicizing and not informing is difficult. And while I was slightly concerned about the 'salacious' bits you call out, in the context of the whole interview I began to wonder if this isn't a good interrogator's effort to get his target off-balance and provoke an incriminating response.
Nope. We have to stop pretending that Mrs. Obama's high road is always the best path. Remember how flustered Jeb and Marco got with Trump's juvenile insults in the debates? Trump's low-brow attacks knocked them off-guard and they lost focus, dooming their debate performances.
We have to accept that unfortunately our level of intellectual discourse has taken a nose dive. And if what we have to do is resort to quips about hand size and orangeness to regain power then that is what we should do. We can restore thoughtfulness and wisdom once we get back in power. Until then, it's Jerry Springer tactics all the way.
And as aside, let's spend some money on public education so we never sink back to the intellectual wasteland that is passing for conservatism these days. Buckely would be mortified.
20
Former FBI Director Comey is totally correct in stating that Trump is way out of line repeatedly calling for the imprisonment of a private citizen.
Without providing any evidence, Trump recklessly states that Comey committed “many crimes” and deserves to be imprisoned for leaking classified information and lying to Congress.
Enough is enough. Comey should sue Trump personally for defamation in the U.S. District Court for DC, and Trump should be forced to testify about his intentional, numerous false statements against Comey for the past 2+ years.
To maintain his higher loyalty, I think the honorable thing for Comey would have been to stay low and quiet until he's called to testify to the facts of his encounters with Trump. His book and tour have sadly diluted the impact of any future testimony.
Comey is giving us observational details that are relevant, based on what media has reported, so its fair game. One thing we can be confident is that Comeys facts are facts as oppose to Trump fake facts.
Frank- you swung at a 90 mph fastball and whiffed.
Perhaps, if you keep your eye on the ball you wouldn't miss so many opportunities coming down the strike zone that so many of your contemporaries are driving out of the park. Open your eyes. Keep your eye on the ball. Breath. Let it come to you. Don't be so tense. Relax.
Comey has been fighting for our country since Vietnam where he served honorably. Meanwhile Trump had bone spurs and used his father's money to go bankrupt six times. Comey is reminding us that this is not the new normal!
1
Everyone has an opinion, I read the Comey book last night and have had an opportunity to talk to him in person. Trump,his administration,family are the individual destroying our democracy not Comey. Trump is the one who has called minorities every name in the book. Mrs. Obama said when they go low we go high, well we have been going high and now it is time to go low, Trump is on the ropes and his corrupt administration have put themselves on the ropes. Trump has embarrassed the American on the world stage and is dismantling the support system that keeps this country afloat. Thank God there are flawed people like Comey who acknowledge there flaws and try to do better and make the country remain strong. I believe Comey is attempting to address a wrong he helped create and maybe we might not like his style of doing it but if we are smart we should be listening to the message. The biggest take away is character does matter. matter. We need to go out and vote, to stay awake, to take to the streets and not tolerate the clear wrongs in life. For example Trumps threats and the arrest of two men doing nothing at Starbucks.
Thank you Mr. Bruni for sharing your insights with this piece. its outstanding as usual
There is more than enough to say about Trump's lack of morality (among other things) without resorting to the petty physical comments. But after all Trump has done to and said about Mr. Comey, can you blame the guy?
Trump personalizes everything. Ideas don’t joust. People do. And it’s vanity, not verities, at stake. With the way that "Comey has written his book, which charts every last tremor of his conscience, and the staging of his appearances in promotion of it, he has abetted his own transformation from a crucial witness to a character in the serial drama and nonstop spectacle of Trump’s life."
What does this even mean? The nation has for the most part sat back since the disastrous election night. The people who are doing something about the calamity we ended up with are a small minority. Comey is a straight shooting public servant and by coming out in the media with his sensational book, he is fighting Trump in his own game. The times for niceties have long passed. Come is not an abettor but a realistic chess player who knows how to switch between strategy and tactics. My advice to all in the coming elections is to vote for candidates that are going to move this country towards democracy from the pathetic oligarchy it has allowed to rule it. Go with the progressives in November and definitely consider Bernie Sanders/Elizabeth Warren for 2020.
1
Comey’s book is saying what the news agencies refused to say when Trump was running for office. They should have sent him running the first time he bad-mouthed or threatened another person in public. Instead, they wallowed in his bluster because it gave them ratings. More than anything, we have the news media to thank for our current president.
I can't agree with Frank Bruni, although I don't dispute his analysis. But Trump won the election (one way or another) because he had the personality of a snake oil salesman. Comey may be coming across slightly petty, but if his "honor and integrity" seemed to have slipped, it attracted attention to an audience that responds to charlatans and circuses. Would anyone be seduced into reading his book if he did not show a bit of the showman, distasteful as it may be? The world he's entered demands it.
It's really too late to think about Trump ruining the image or the reputability of the FBI or casting Comey as being above the fray. His election as President has done this to the entire nation. I'm embarrassed that he's in office and that's enough to shrink my sens as an American.
Comey showed his humanity, including the flaws. Big deal. Before Trump, the displays of officiousness, and the "just the facts" attitude were blatant hypocrisy. In the 1960's the FBI did everything in their power to bring down Martin Luther King and other black Civil Rights activists. They and other agencies like the CIA have targeted dissidents and others who have honorably and legally opposesd government policies we now acknowledge as being immoral and even illegal. Trump just brought more people into the opinion that this agency isn't the high and mighty institution many liberals and conservatives have set them up to be, and their methods and their agents are flawed human beings, some with high aspirations, others no so much. Just like the rest of us.
No one should be shocked by a display of Comey as an ordinary man. We should be shocked by our need to constantly set ordinary men on unreachable pedestals.
It's not Comey's manner that was a problem -- more power too him for his bravery in telling the truth about his experiences with Trump. Who else among those who could do so are speaking their truth? The only problem is how Comey revealed his own cowardice in failing to stand up to Trump when pressed to declare a perverse loyalty to the mob boss. That he didn't was, of course, to his eternal credit (although he seemed to be satisfied to allow Trump to imagine he indeed got that pledge, albeit obliquely).
But by his own descriptions Comey failed to stand up to Trump several times; definitely understandable, given the stakes, but that even an FBI Director would be so obsequious and deferential to what he surely understood to be a moral and intellectual cretin was depressing.
Comey's weakness was what stood out.
Comey's performance was tacky. Just as Trump is tacky.
The ratings for the ABC interview were disappointing. Significantly lower than the launch of the new "Roseanne" and about half of the audience of the Stormy Daniels interview. Enough had already leaked that people knew that Comey would insult Trump to soothe his own ego and avenge his being fired. They expected little new.
The book will fizzle out. Why buy it when you already know the juicy parts? Future interviews will be reruns of the same old insults and break no new ground as Trump-hating media snuggle up to Comey. Interest will wane.
Unless a less sycophantic interviewer asks a really pointed question that gets an unexpected reply. But no real need to watch as that will make newscasts and Twitter.
The perception grows that Comey and his cohort are "out to get Trump" but they're running out of Russian ammunition.
Mr. Bruni is mistaken about this one. Standing up to a demagogue is not being entangled in his outrageous behavior. Compliance is to remain silent. And mentioning personal matters at all? Given Trump's long history of outrageous behavior, the law of averages would alone determine that personal matters would be somehow addressed. Also, Trump himself would be (remain?) the ultimate hypocrite to criticize marketing methods, especially those like personal matters that enhance publicity. American hucksterism ("showboating") itself has a long history, some handling it with integrity (Comey) and some with snake oil (yep, Trump). Ultimately, it may take a huckster to catch a huckster. Michelle Obama has said "When they go low, we go high" and a multitude or Democratic candidates thereby lost to Republicans, with the outstanding exception of Barack. Not any more -- When they go low, we go strong, with integrity, yes, but also relentlessly.
Here’s a clear case of the pot calling the kettle black. If Mr. Comey’s book is an example of showboating, what can one say of Mr. Bruni’s articles, which have also occasionally been known to reveal personal, humanizing details of the writer’s life?
Trump "...has inoculated himself against the judgment of Robert Mueller..." Oh, come on. No, he hasn't. Perhaps Comey shouldn't have mentioned Trump's orange makeup or the size of his hands, but he generally comes across as a reliable and truthful witness, and you can see that. The fact that he is probably enjoying this revenge against a man who didn't have the guts to fire him in person is no stain on his character. He's human. This does not in any way decrease the effectiveness of his story.
hasn’t Comey joined Trump almost as much as he’s defying him?
No.
What does a bully do when you turn the other cheek? He hits that one too.
Sorry Frank. If you are a writer you know how to color a story with observations to make it more credible and down to earth.
Here are the facts.
1. Comey told the truth and the reasoning behind his acts even though they may hurt him. It is uncommon candor. He is totally consistent. He is on a mission. Where are Tillerson and Cohn? Why is Pruitt still at the EPA?
2. He is extraordinarily expressive and has told a historic story that will go into the history books and future Trump documentaries -- just as has happened with Nixon.
3. Comey is using Trump's trick that even if it's bad news its still OK in order to get the press. Trump does this every day.
4. When you observe Comey's analytic and writing and communication skills it's obvious that Trump cannot come even close to matching him in the basic area of vocabulary and glossary.
5. While Trump is a bully, Comey uses the pen and metaphor to assail Trump.
6. Metaphor is key. His use of the crime family behavior pattern that is indicative of Trump is also cast upon the members of the Republican Party -- its leadership and many of its elected officials, and his zombie supporters. These accept his dishonesty and poor character and do not see the imminent danger to the fabric that makes America.
7. Beneath it all Trump is autistic and may be dyslectic and developed defenses in High School where he honed his bully stance. His poor language skills worked against him as they do today.
1
Mr Bruni's overall point is well-made and on target. Commenting on Trump's personal appearance comes off as petty. That said, who better than Comey -- who prosecuted mob bosses -- to make the very apt comparison of Trump's leadership style (and that is what he was focused on, style) to that of men like Fat Tony Salerno? The actual answer to that question is, The New York Times. It cannot be said enough that Trump is, to a large degree, the creation of his mentor -- Roy Cohn, who represented Salerno. His brashness and lack of tact reflects the world of Salerno, Cohn and the Manhattan real estate world of the 1970s and 1980s. Like the mob bosses, his first and fallback tool of leadership is intimidation. Now that that tool has become subject to the limitations created by the public spotlight, it no longer proves very effective. Comey, whatever his flaws, shines a little more light on our president's learning at the feet of a mob lawyer. It is an analysis that any public watchdog would do well to keep in mind while surveying the actions of this White House.
The only decent thing about a former FBI director writing an exposé on a sitting president under the guise of a memoir is that it shows he didn't profiteer off his time in government. And while It does seem surreal and yet newly normal simultaneously, I suppose that if the book and his publicity tour do even a small amount to draw away votes from our fascismo in chief then it will be worth this single chapter of being nationally held hostage inside of a circus because that is a metaphor which I never want to need again.
Sadly, Comey's effectiveness as someone willing to speak the truth and stand up to Donald Trump is limited by the fact that he has an axe to grind and is seen as someone with nothing left to lose. As evidenced in his interview, when he was head of the FBI he exhibited extreme caution regarding what he was willing to tell the President to his face. He was mindful not only of what was appropriate for the head of the FBI to say and do, but what was appropriate for someone who wanted to keep his job. Perhaps he wanted to keep his job so he could conduct his investigation, but with Trump has a talent for exploiting other peoples' cautious behavior and then making them complicit. The President honestly brings out the worst in everybody.
But Trump couldn't do it alone. Fox News and the right wing media play an important part in the Trump phenomenon. Perhaps, instead of critiquing men like Comey, journalists could take a look at the villains in closer to home in the media and consider their own role in legitimizing the alt right by playing along with Trump's treatment of them as legitimate news.
My sense is that Comey is a basically decent and credible person whose decisions in connection with the Clinton probe were the result of extraordinarily poor judgment, not partisanship or anti-Hillary bias. But, boy, was his judgment ever poor. He really didn't think his unnecessary, cryptically-worded eleventh-hour letter to Congress announcing the re-opening of the investigation would have any impact on the election? When it took place, I could not see any possible alternative explanation for that action besides sheer partisanship.
That said, I'm not sure I agree that his conduct in connection with his book promotion is unseemly. At this stage, very few intelligent adults who are paying attention can possibly fail to see the full extent of Trump's malignancy, but I think (or hope) that there may yet be a few people with a favorable or neutral opinion of Trump who may yet be influenced by the former FBI director's words. And the more Comey speaks out, the more likely he is to help those people see the light.
2
Trump makes it personal in his attempts to ruin the public image of those who have served this country. When the subject of Trumps attacks, are now private citizens, guess what they are allow to exercise the right to free speech just as everyone else.
2
Unfortunately, what James Comey does is, in a way, worse than what Donald the Magnificent does.
Comey is highly educated professional who was entrusted with the leadership of the primary federal law enforcement agency. To get this exalted responsibility he has had to prove himself worthy time and again. Trump merely had to get elected or, to be more precise, apponited President. The criteria for Comey have always been more strict than for Trump. To see him descend to the depths where Trump flies on the occasional good day, is disappointing.
As Mr. Bruni puts it, he has become a character in the play Trump directs, and his choice of words and the eagerness with which he seeks to broadcast them, hollows out his assertions. Before long, those media that support Trump or consider him their cash cow will excoriate James Comey and reduce him to a byword for spite and lust-for-lucre.
So, indeed, and however unlikely, Trump may feel safer in the face of Mueller's eventual findings. Isn't he "another former head of the FBI", after all? And Comey has shown us what they are like, hasn't he?
No, Jim Comey, not a good move at all...
3
I normally agree with Mr. Bruni on almost all topics, but I must disagree with him regarding Mr. Comey's recent interview. I found Mr. Comey's comments straight forward, rational for the most part, and persuasive. Although he acknowledged that he may have made mistakes, I believe that he is a relatively dedicated individual who has done a public service by telling the truth about Mr. Trump's outrageous requests and behavior; and I hope he continues to relate his encounters with Mr. Trump because the public needs to know the true character of the current occupant of the Oval Office.
6
Well done, Mr. Bruni. Comey has added fuel to Trump's fire and has hurt hopes of electing Trump out of office three years hence. We don't need Comey's self-serving book tour. We need grass roots action at the most basic level to see to it that this man is a one term president. It is circus like to talk about some of the things Comey mentions. I thought him above all that, but maybe staying above it wouldn't sell books. Again, great column.
2
I respectfully totally disagree with this editorial. I recognize that it is difficult to disentangle one's opinion about a person from their words and ideas. Thus my difficulty with anything that Trump says and my inclination to offer Comey a fair evaluation, which may not always, in fact, be fair. Having said that, taking a mindful step back, I am reminded of the urgency to regularly and fully recognize the danger that Trump poses to this country. Comey is doing so through a venue that brings his valid and evidence-based observations to a wider audience. I believe he is doing so in a way that many others ought to and as loudly as possible.
6
I disagree with you, Frank. I think what is rapidly becoming apparent is that Trump cannot take a (rhetorical) punch. Like most bullies who build a reputation by feasting on smaller, weaker opponents (the clown show that was the Republican primary comes to mind), he's out of his league when he steps up to play with the big boys who are not intimidated.
The court system figured that out early on; that he is a one trick pony; all bluster, and no substance. Xi in China took his measure of Trump early on, and smacked him down on trade. Hard. He took an eight count on that one.
And now, like sharks in the water sensing blood, lawyers like Michael Avenatti (Stormy Daniels) have not only sensed that same weakness, they are also discovering that he also has increasing difficulty throwing punches. It's no coincidence that the FBI, after absorbing some heat early on, decided to start countering his jabs with a flurry of high, hard ones that landed flush on the jaw. The raids on Manafort and Cohen are examples of this. And now Comey - and another eight count.
They all have learned that the way to deal with Trump is to go right at him. Hammer him, early and often. Chew up the likes of Cohen (not to mention the Republican Party) in the process.
They will keep bringing it. Why? Because they are beginning to have some fun with this chump. And because heavyweight careers are made this way. There is a lesson in there for the Democrats, if they are taking notes.
11
Your forth last paragraph is quite sufficient Frank. The obviousness of it is the crying shame that your country grapples with. The rest is Comey being human. Cut him some slack. Trump and this epoch is a terrible situation only made worse by the craven behaviour of elected GOP legislators, who as a class will, I trust, no pray, be decimated in November. Full stop. Honestly, from some distance, this rolling scenario is a frightening unravelling of the USA's finer destiny. Advice...bypass the GOP and Washington and go directly to Trump's electoral supporters in the periphery and report, again and again their reality, and how he, hour by hour, day by day, sells them out.
5
Sadly, I wholeheartedly agree. Comey is a haughty prig - blind to his own arrogance and the destructive nature of his own behavior. First, his offended retelling of his encounters with Trump before Congress - his "J'accuse!" - just months after he. himself violated established Justice Dept. protocols by publicly re-opening the Hillary investigation is ironic and undermines his credibility utterly. It's so obvious that it was his own skin he was trying to save - not the cause of Justice with a capital J. Secondly, he's violating Justice Dept. protocols right now by releasing this book and commenting on an ongoing investigation while hawking said book. How does this help the cause of justice? The country? Lastly, from a man who claims to understand Trump's m.o., any mention of John Kelly's 'poor you' outrage - an implicit criticism of Trump - is an open invitation to get Kelly fired. So much for his "we need good men in the White House" shtick. With friends like that, who needs Trump? All of the foregoing helps Trump and diminishes Mueller's ability to successfully complete his investigation. It's unfortunate that Comey has decided to wallow around with Trump in the muck. It gives Trump an opening to gin up the debased moral equivalence he needs to further muddy the waters and shore up his angry, and willfully ignorant base. At least Trump is in on the joke. He knows he's conning his supporters. Comey has conned himself and we are all the worse for it.
2
I don't think so Frank.
Engaging Trump from the high ground failed to work for Jeb Bush.
Snarky or not, truth is what should count. Trump fails and Commey prevails on that count.
4
I don't think it is odd for a law enforcement official to make observations (about hands, skin, white half moons) and then note them.
I find it more upsetting that Comey couldn't look the monster in the face and say, "I serve the American people. I am loyal to the Constitution. I am not your personal police chief. I understand this is new territory for YOU, but it isn't for me, and that isn't the way government works."
3
Trump gave him the green light to do exactly what every one of the fallen from the regime will do- write a book, go on speaking tours, describe, as in Apocalypse Now, “ the Horror” that is association with this Kurtz in the Oval Office. As food for thought, though, if in fact Comey and Trump had hatched a plan to boost Trumps odds of taking the election, how would they cover that up believably? Comey points out his family all voted for Hillary, but he himself did not vote, because he prioritized the apolitical nature of law enforcement. What better way to hide a collusion than to make it seem as if there is a mutual disgust with the other? That is a high school way to throw the hounds off the scent of a secret bromance. I don’t know much about Comeys emotional intelligence, but it seems like something the Donald would find “very, very smart”. Just a thought...
Of come on Mr. Bruni. Please don't play a holier -than-thou church lady role here. As long as Mr. Comey speaks truth we should listen. He is entitled to get his digs into Mr. Trump whose own style is beyond Don Rickles insulting.
4
This column provides additional support for the conclusion that decision making isn't one of Comey's fortes. On the other hand, if he were in fact committed to making amends for his catastrophic, country-kicking decision eleven days before the election, this seems to be a way to achieve that. It's certain that, by taking both high roads and low, he'll reach more people with his account of what a historic disaster trump is. In fact, it's probably by the latter route that he is most likely to avoid preaching to the choir.
It's also worth noting that there's not much trump can do about this. He says that his rule of life is "when I get punched, I punch back 10 (or is it 100?) times harder." With what, tweets? Give me a break, how pathetic. Comey, who has faced down the toughest of the tough, surely knows that trump is ALL talk. And getting trump to talk is tantamount to giving him plenty of rope.
I think Comey would value the esteem of someone like Frank Bruni. Maybe he has consciously disregarded that potential reward. Yes, there'll be lots and lots of money but I'm guessing that isn't the only factor for him. I don't think a person with character becomes a trump just because he's able to write a best-seller.
Nonsense. Trump has debased our country to the point that one wonders if Republicans in Congress could be tried for treason for refusing to protect us from him. This "when they go low, we go high" routine did not work, remember? Mr. Comey was fired by Mr. Trump an yet, you claim he should be protecting his former agency and not his own actions. Enough already with normalizing Trump in Washington, DC. Comey will not participate and so be it.
4
Bruni, you are far off the mark in this column. The idea that Trump can be defeated or diminished by going high while they go low is ridiculous. Comey has not gone into the mud or down to Trump's level in his book or interviews. The tone and language are completely different. They carry the ring of truth while Trump's tone and language reek of lies and filth.
I do fault the book's editor. Some of the personal details should have been cut, especially the part about hand size. As for height, Trump and his new physician are lying about Trump's height. He is no longer six foot three without shoes, if he ever was. That is obvious when you see him walk near large numbers of other men who are nearly as tall as he. By 71 all men have shrunk by more than an inch. Better though that this detail also should have been omitted.
Comey's characterization of Trump as a mob boss morally unfit to be a leader is spot on. We need to thank Comey for this and the other hard punches he has landed on our worst President ever.
4
I do not understand why those in the media seem to think Comey has debased himself at all in the promotion. Sorry I don't see it.
3
OK, complain as you will about Comey descending to Trump's depths, at least he's attacking this existential threat to our democracy with energy and effectiveness. The pusillanimous complicit silence of Republicans and high-minded nattering about the president's failings from other quarters ain't cutting it...
4
Maybe Mueller and Comey are a tag team. Comey distracts the president by going low while Mueller works his lawyer over at the state court level. Great movie material. Wonder how it ends.
1
Wow, Frank. I think this is the first time I've been really disappointed in what you have to say. Not just you but the rest of the media coverage, including other Times reporters, bis. Corey's book and interview. What's your problem with him appearing on The View? That's it's a "women's venue", lacking credibility somehow? I don't watch daytime tv but Comey's willingness to discuss this mess with a panel of women is commendable. And what makes you think Comey has any idea that as an interview he's a "get' as you put it, and conscious of his "marketability"? As if a guy with Comey's clear principles would see himself in that light after years of government service. And what's the media flurry about his physical description of Trump upon first meeting him in person? George asks him what his first impressions were of Trump. Now, as an FBI guy, wouldn't physical characteristics be the first thing you'd note? Yes. There is no malice in his description of Trump. Why is the media shaming Comey for being honest? Could it be because they're more culpable of normalizing this "President" than Comey has ever been? Including you, Frank.
I'm sad you went down this road. I actually count on you to be a clearer thinker than this. Like Comey said. The world has gone mad.
6
I agree. If snarky comments on appearance and spreading unsubstantiated rumors are the best we can do at the highest levels of discourse, what hope is there?
1
No snark. The guy just isn't snarky. Maybe Trump's constant snark is reducing folks' ability to actually detect the real thing.
OK, fair enough and point taken. But in something as non-stop as the Trump show, and the endlessness of it all, perhaps we need to remember that politics, All politics, can be a very dirty business. This said, is it so hard to understand that the best way to trap and expose a pig is to get down in the mud with him? We live in a 24 hour-news-cycle-facebook-tweet-fest, much of it from the president, but just as much from the tweet responders and the opinion class, Mr. Bruni. Just a couple of weeks ago you sat down on camera with Anne Coulter and allowed her to spout gross inanities on your dime. This is the world we live in. If no one ever calls president comb-over on his obvious self involved agenda, then it is assumed to be tacitly approved of by the listening public at large. I would much rather someone with the bona fides of Mr. Comey hold Mr. Trumps feet to the fire if only to watch the predictable asinine fireworks start. Of all the things one can say about this endless clown show, the words 'Unfit to hold the office' ring truest to me. No one in any position of power has the audience Mr. Comey does at this point. As tacky as the platform may be, this needs to start happening. Now.
7
Come on, Mr. Bruni. Look at how T treated his Republican opponents. Look at how he treated protesters at his rallies. Now you rail at Comey for relating a few of the personal details that occurred to him when he had to deal with the president. These are the bits that help to sell a book and you know it.
The NY Times and the WA Post refused to take their gloves off while covering candidate Trump, allowing him to get away with all sorts of vulgarity and meanness, labelling his opponents in outrageous ways, and now you balk at Comey's telling the truth as he saw it? Please!
4
Comey has undermined his credibility and complicated Mueller's case.
1
It is unclear to me how people that the POTUS has referred to in sophomoric, schoolyard taunts in public and in private are not allowed to make clear and correct observations regarding the man and his characteristics. Why is it that everyone else in this country is held to a higher level of verbal correctness than is the POTUS? The President has successfully lowered the public discourse to levels unheard of in polite society, much less in our public leaders. The Republican Party announces its support for that behavior in weekly polls at close to 80%. Why now are liberals decrying the relatively tame and quiet observations that editors want put in a book to entice the public that so loves Trump's "candor" to buy and read said book? Ugly begets ugly. It just happens. At least Comey is honest and willing to look at some of his behaviors as less than perfect. He (Comey) ratains the high ground.
4
Sorry Frank, but this is the only language Trump understands. It’s a shame Comey has to sink so low, but he hit his target: Trump is having an absolute fit.
3
The problem is that Trump tends to drag people down to his level. It’s hard to resist that but we need to try.
Jim Comey's book perhaps titillated a tad
And he received tweets all too nasty and bad
But it's clear who is honorable in this telling
The tweets will do little to change that feeling
Sorry, Mr. Bruni I just don't buy it. You cannot have it both ways as if this is a sports contest and Trump the winner. There is nothing, not a speck of anything human in our mentally deranged president. Too long the public has let republicans trample all over their rights, their morals, and their ethics while being mute. This article doesn't help. Better to write about our falling, failing nation and the cause of it.
1
I’m generally in lock-step agreement with Bruni but not this time. To nitpick the “salacious” media roll-out of someone going up against Trump is downright comical. Republicans and Democrats dislike Comey in equal measure so he’s almost surely the one telling the truth and that truth is not always particularly self-serving. Furthermore, I think a somewhat irrational level of Trump hatred wanted Comey to come almost messiah-like and beyond reproach when in truth he’s just another human character in the drama with an, albeit, important story to tell. He’s obviously an honest and honorable man with a bloated sense of his place in history which hardly makes him unique in Washington.
104
I just have to compliment you, Mark, on "bloated sense of his place in history which hardly makes him unique in Washington." What a perfect adjective, and what a perfect judgment. Though I should hasten to add, in all fairness, that there's ample bloat in my own industry and ranks!
44
On the one hand, It is possible that Comey sees how easily he can poke Trump and how much fun it is, and he has discovered that doing so is not like poking a bear. There is no danger; it just provokes Trump to make more of a fool of himself with his hysterical histrionic tweets. As long as Comey does not cower from Trump's verbal abuse, it is Trump who comes out the worse.
On the other hand, Trump and Comey have some kindred aspects. Both love attention; cameras and microphones please them. That craving for attention is the Achilles heel of both.
Had Comey simply closed the Clinton investigation with no announcement and let the Justice Department handle it, he would have behaved as an FBI Director should. Further, if he had a need to reopen the investigation upon acquiring the Weiner computer, he could have done so without making that public, again keeping a low profile. But he could do neither because he craved the attention.
Comey is now largely disliked by those both on the right and on the left. If he helps bring down Trump, those on the left will accept the help, but the damage done by Comey against Clinton in 2016 remains too large to forgive irrespective of what becomes of Trump. And the right will vilify him forever.
Comey's career is destined for an ignominious ending. He has no one to blame but himself.
1
I do not think less of Comey for entering the lion’s den; rather, I applauded him. His important message is not meant for those of us who read the NYT; it is meant for those Americans who are still undecided whether it is Trump or the “Deep State” that is the villain now destroying their country.
By writing his book and giving numerous TV interviews he has incurred the wrath of many, including Mr. Bruni, but he has also spread his credible message widely enough to leave the undecided with an important decision to make: “Do I believe Comey—a man who has dedicated his life to truth and integrity—or do I believe the President—a man who has said a lot of things that are just not true?”
Everyone that has contact with Trump inevitability becomes tainted. That's part of Trumps's magic; that's who he is.
1
Only the Obamas, with their grace and intelligence, remain untainted.
1
Mr. Bruni:
In an odd sort of way, you're making Comey's point for him -- that anyone who comes into contact with the President is tainted by the encounter.
For example, what was wonky Marco Rubio doing exchanging gutter insults with the President?
There's a frightened elementary school child in everyone of us, I would imagine. And adult schoolyard bullies have the power to transport us back to that less than felicitous place, which begs the question again, of just how a piece of human offal like Trump is our President.
I'm certain many readers recall trying to take the high road with a bully as a little kid , like ours mom told us to, and being ridiculed as pedantic and effete, and struggling to find the right tone. It was a no-win situation then, and it still is.
Don't blame Comey.
He didn't make the rules.
2
I agree with what you say about trump but not with your characterization of Comey. What you are saying is that trump can say whatever he wants and everyone else criticizing trump is descending. You are helping Trump with your assumptions no the other way around; implying that Comey is in ‘descend’ only because he is describing literally what he witnessed when he met and spoke with trump, seems unfair. It is also an insult to Comey to say that “here we have the former head of a supposedly scrupulous, detached federal agency reaching for Mafia metaphors……etc”…. Were you expecting Comey to describe his experiences with trump in a ‘rosy’ manner? He is no longer the FBI director or serving the country in any capacity. As a civilian he can express in whatever manner he wants his real experiences with trump; trump got nothing on Comey. You just can’t compare them.
1
You are missing the story, Frank. Mr. Comey is having a battle of character, and of wits, with an unarmed man.
1
I disagree. Comey had firsthand experience of a very corrupt and shady president. And Trump’s insults and conduct have been so unrelentingly low and crude that we’ve almost grown accustomed to them. We’ve also almost normalized the silence and/or complicity of most Congressional Republicans. So when one powerful public figure stands up and speaks truth to trump’s corrupt power, and gives us the details of a trained observer, people say Comey is going low. Or people flip it and accuse Comey of being self-righteous and holier than thou.
If we’re going to normalize Trump’s
thuggish conduct, then anyone who stands up to him will look sanctimonious. Shame on us all for
accusing Comey of stooping to Trump’s level, or accusing him of going after the money. He’s trying to give witness to what he saw of trump.
It’s dueling egos in living color. I see them now on the rickety portico of post-apex American history strumming away while Washington burns... The exception has become the norm and the slope slips beneath us.
I respectfully disagree with your assessment. Comey did not start this fire. Do you really think that Trumps base will read Comey's book?! The fact that he is doing the "circuit" of interviews is to directly speak to Trumps base via TV. You say he "Shrunk" the FBI ~~ I say he is using every tool available to him to teach us about the FBI. Please rethink your position on this as your position as a journalist/analyst is just one more teaching tool
I disagree. From the time Trump humiliated Mr. Comey with the method of his firing, all through 2017 and up until now, Trump has misused the "bully pulpit" for grotesque ad hominem attacks on the FBI Director while the latter remained mostly silent.
Mr. Comey is bringing him up short with a clear statement that even a private citizen can fight back with a bullhorn of his own. Trump can ignore marches, protests and op-eds all he wants, and has done so. But with his book, Mr. Comey has slapped him in the face with a wet bathing suit, and Trump's frantic reaction to it testifies to its effect.
We've read, watched and listened to Trump's manic insults of scores of people for over two years, and it's time - and past time - for someone of Mr. Comey's stature to stuff a sock in Trump's mouth.
Sometimes you DO have to turn on the schoolyard bully, whether you're both punished for it or not. It's the chance you take, but more often than not it's worth it.
"Morality" trumps ethics in this juvenile nation projecting human nature onto all of nature. That bungler Comey isn't any older today than he was as an Eagle Scout. Trump played him like a fiddle.
1
Cancelled by pre-order of Loyalty First just in time. It sounds more self-serving than serious. Some good points but sprinkled with excuses and pompous righteousness. Disappointed.
2
This is how it is, this age no longer has restrains or expected behavior. Comey is a long serving public figure sacked by a media figure elected president. The only way to face Trump is for all of us to be like him, cynical and superfluous, and still be truth
It's true Comey comes across as a bit of a disgruntled fired employee, but who can blame him? His evaluation of this president will go down in history as someone who spoke the truth in his observations of a lunatic who once ran our country. So I'm grateful someone (especially someone from the Republican party) who had the guts to describe exactly what he experienced.
I don`t agree that Trump got the better of Comey . Comey did what he had to do and that is to tell the truth about this despicable man . What happens is that people are burying their heads in the sand and do not want to accept the terrible truth of how low and dangerous the man in the White House is . It is comforting to think that yes , he is bad , but not bad . If other ex members of the administration spoke that clearly probably we would be now in a safer situation . Trump shrunk the Country . The dignity of the FBI is intact .
Frank Bruni is right. Comey could have told his story credibly without stooping to Trump's level.
1
I can't imagine a better way to mess with Trumps head than deliver in a composed tone the very unbelievable truth. I think you don't have to convince most that Trump is inside a very insecure man, his childlike behavior all along is evidence. I think you are underestimating Mr. Comey as Trump will not stop playing the fool in reaction to this book, a book that will be part of many a collage thesis about a dark time in American politics.
1
If Mr. Comey continues to attack Mr. Trump Ad Hominem as he is doing, he diminishes his own credibility and galvanizes Mr. Trump's supporters. This can only work in Mr. Trump's favor. If it ever becomes necessary to remove Mr. Trump from office for cause (or vote him out of office), a significant number of his supporters will have to be convinced that removal is the correct and necessary action. Impeachment is a political, not a legal process and that means that the people have to be overwhelmingly in favor of doing so if it is to happen.
Mr. Trump was legitimately elected President because government policies over the past 37 years have severely adversely impacted the living standards and wellbeing of a very large number of Americans. This occurred under the watch of both parties who disrespected and disregarded the votes of those people. Mr. Trump spoke to their concerns and earned their favor. These people are desperate and are willing to tolerate Mr. Trump's unsavory character if they see is trying to help them. "Going low" will not resonate with them. They are not stupid and were not deceived. They demanded change which Mr. Trump is trying to deliver.
Mr. Comey's tactics may or may not sell more books, but they will certainly make it harder to contain and control Mr. Trump.
1
Hey Frank. Just what exactly did Comey write that's not true? I'll hang up and listen.
Take that back. I spoke to soon. If some of the Republican candidates in the primary season had punched that bully out we would not be dealing with now.
Now I'll hang up and listen.
Oh Frank, do I disagree!
Watching Comey speak for himself (third time for me - first the 60 Minutes piece a couple of years ago, then his testimony a year ago, and lastly the ABC piece last night), my take is that this is one decent, honest, thoughtful patriot.
He does what he does, he did what he did, because HE thought it was in the best interest of the nation.
He now does the View? yeah, he's hoping to sell lots of books ( I hope he does too).
He did NOT shrink the FBI. Just the opposite - he made sure the FBI remain viable and neutral (he probably earned the wrath of his wife and daughters in the process).
And I truly thank James Comey for calling Trump what he is - a liar, not morally fit to be POTUS.
Truer words were never spoken.
2
Remember that we saw less than 60 minutes of what reportedly 5 hours of interviews. ABC edited it; Comey did not.
I am disappointed that Comey charged at a 5th grade bully's year long unintelligible conduct with a 5h grade mentality of his own.. at least in part. Certainly not as abhorrent as Trump's documented record of hundreds of lies and calumnies. He might have used more of a Joseph Welch like "Mr president, have you no decency" approach. I remember this was a turning point in cutting down McCarthy in the public eye.
Nonsense. What's Comey to do? He can't reveal secrets. But we deserve to hear his side of the story. He's an honest man trying to set the record straight in face of the greatest lair the country has ever seen. I doubt any of us could have handled the complex binds he faced any better.
Trump should know better than to take on a thorough, driven, brilliant and highly focused FBI litigator. Comey hasn’t brought himself down to Trump’s level by playing his game. Rather he is showing us what needs to be done to get rid of Trump. Call him out. Call him every name in th book that he deserves. Expose the imposter right down to his orange skin. Trump laughs at those high minded people who always take the high road. But he’s not laughing now and he is deteriorating further with each attack on his character. I say, Bravo Mr. Comey.
1
Frank Bruni is right about James Comey. Throughout his career, Comey usually has been a man with the instincts to do the honorable thing, but two flaws have tended to get in his way. One has been ego, and that vanity has made his other failing – a lack of patience – even more problematic.
Comey has tried to solve the whole mess by himself, too aggressively and too soon. Perhaps as much as the Russian meddling and the well-financed dirty tricks of ultra-conservatives, Comey cost Hillary Clinton the 2016 election.
The one thing James Comey had not done until his book was to sink to the crass, unprincipled tactics of Donald Trump.
Comey still speaks the truth – unlike Trump – but he has foolishly sacrificed the moral high ground of serious respect for the process and adherence to proper deportment.
1
Sure Comey should have had an editor who pointed out the perception of pettiness attached to some of his descriptions.
But I think it fair to point out that Jim Comey is an observer of people and recorder of facts:
Where people sit , how they sit, what surrounds them, how they look and speak . Previous publicity obviously helped him notice hand size . the rest - the tan- the hair the desk all part of his observation process uncensored by thoughts of "how will this go over". As my writer father instructed -" some of your first draft " gems " will have to be killed in the final product. "
Pundits may have a field day blasting Trump--a President so flawed he invites daily diatribes. But when the respected former FBI chief does it--ruthlessly, as Comey has, the criticism reaches a higher level and is much more effective. I would love to hear more and more from James Comey.
1
Disagree. His observations and his reflections are important. If they mean Comey is now just part of the Resistance, so be it...it's binary. There is no other place for decent people at this time...no squishy middle ground.
3
Your column pinpoints the asymmetry between conservative and liberal approaches. Liberals tend to adhere to strict codes that make them refuse to lower themselves to dirty fighting like lying and smearing freely without conscience. They actually look at what they are doing in light of its morality. That does not win arguments with the part of the public that just cares about tribal victory as I suspect most Trump backers still do.
Regardless of some of the self-demeaning utterances in his book, I would trust Comey's opinion and memory of conversations 1000% more than 45's blathering word salad...
2
I, as well as the majority of commentors see your article as skewed toward a personal bias of style vs content. Comey could have been more erudite but he and his publishers want to reach a broader audience,albeit a more simplistic language. Trumps art is feeding the lowest common denominator. Its what every reality tv producer shoots for. For 8 years we were fed the slick tongued language of Obama who bombed with impunity, appointed Monsanto at every turn, gave unto Wall St and got away with it amongst liberal elites and wannabes. It was good cover for the same war mentality as Trump. I never thought id see the day the left defend the FBI. Thanks to Trump... here we are.
1
This editorial really lacks substance and the argument just is not interesting. Trying to balance Comey with Trump is, well...why? Because it gives fodder to the right wing? One hard lesson I've learned from the last year is that the right wing will make fodder out of anything - Obama's birth certificate, Michelle Obama's sleeveless dresses, fist bumps - and now that Mr. Comey has taken a small amount of rightful revenge on Mr. Trump, it's the left that's getting all upset because he was not squeaky clean. I've read a lot about Mr. Comey and he seems to be a good guy. Though I will never, ever understand why he released HIllary's emails, the fact that he mentioned Trump's hands and orange colored skin is not particularly interesting but I do understand both the impulse and the fact that he included those details. The left should stop some of its self-flagellating. There's no doubt left in any decent person's mind that we're the good guys. Let's not make his book about the small trip ups. Maybe we could look at the larger issues involved.
The FBI operates in secret but what Comey has to say about Trump is a reality that every American needs to hear. Clearly, Putin has something on the Donald that even Trump's evangelist base will not forgive. And the Hillary supporters need to stop blaming Comey for her losing the election. She was the lesser of two evils that the rest of Democrats had a hard time voting for. Come on, Hillary bought the DNP and threw our true nominee, Bernie under the bus. Bernie Sanders could of taken Trump down so who is to blame?
Not fair, Mr. Bruni. Yes Comey mentions hand size, skin tone and Moscow hookers, but only in passing. There are 304 pages in Comey's book which contains a lot more high road than low road. Yes Comey exercised bad judgement in the Clinton investigation and bad timing in releasing his book before Mueller ended his investigation. But, as one pundit pointed out, one can have terrible judgement and still be honest. And Comey's honesty trumps Trump's by a long shot.
3
Let's take a step back here. Comey, who is still a relatively young man from the perspective of his talent and abilities to function at a very high level was essentially decapitated. It has long been known that the only way to deal with a sociopath (DJT) is to get away from them as fast as you can. They will always bring you down one way or another. However, having experienced this kind of treatment by a previous "superior" and having dedicated my entire adult life to the pursuit of an honorable profession, I, like Comey feel a need to establish some sort of credibility amongst my colleagues. So, Comey, who has admittedly made some serious errors in his previous role that likely resulted in this current sociopath sitting in the Oval, consider who he was really talking to. Sure, he published a book for mass consumption and wants as many sold as possible, but I don't think the masses mean that much to him. The public has already decided by a significant majority that this president is unfit in many ways. But what of the folks in the DOJ and FBI. "Humble" is usually not a word associated with the majority of those people. It takes a lot of self-determination to those jobs every day when they have passed up lucrative careers elsewhere. Having made that sacrifice and only asking for appreciation from those they protect, to have a lowlife like Trump assault their very core must be answered. You say it lowers him, but I think, in the eyes of his peers, shows strength.
1
Comey's grandstanding is undignified and unbefitting a former head of the FBI. He has allowed Trump to rattle him and I am reminded of a Greek tragedy in which a hero suffers a fall due to a tragic flaw of pride and hubris. I am also reminded of Michele Obama's dictum: When someone goes low, you go high.
There are myriad ways to be vigilant about exposing Trump's constant stream of falsehoods and lies and that is an honorable and noble goal. Going on national TV to talk about Trump's orange hair and small hands is just spite. We already have enough of that.
Trump challenges us to be our very best selves in the face of a man who prides himself on conducting himself in the most degraded and debasing manner imaginable. We must not allow him to goad us into stooping to his level and that is what Comey is doing. Pride goeth before the fall.
37
Patricia, you and I seem to be in the minority here, judging from the Comments I've managed to scan, and I write mostly to say that you've described my own apprehensions and disappointments better than I did, and helped me understand them better. Ideally, columns and the reactions to columns do that for all of us, no matter our opinion: They help us grapple with what we're feeling and why we're feeling it. I also like seeing the words of all the people who disagree with you and me on Comey's book and its promotion, because pieces in the Opinion section, including those by columnists, aren't merely or even principally tools for persuasion. They're prompts for intelligent debate. Thanks for reading and participating.
27
I urge you all to think it may not be so low as spite : instead error of thinking that all observable facts are fair.
2
Frank, When I was young I would have been as sure as you and many are. Now after many years of surprises I am fairly convinced that Comey did not intend spite as much as a portrait of facts as he saw them. Let the truth be said. Hubris perhaps spite hmm think not.When you write a lot one learns to kill(edit) ones gems.
There is imo a huge difference between Trump and Comey. Trump has made a career of attempting to validate reason to nefariously manipulate and use others for his gain, at their expense. Comey on the other hand no doubt has a well deserved ego and has used it for good rather than personal gain. Yes his book is for gain and as long as it is mired in truth who cares that profit along with perhaps a bit of vindication and vengeance are part of the process? It is not as though Comey has made a career of taking the low road.
1
I still don't trust Comey after how he handled Clinton's non-indictment with an over-the-top meant to be damaging press conference--which he shouldn't have given. His ego was out of check then. And I despised him after the late October surprise announcement about the laptop emails which tilted the election toward Trump. The Russians must have been happy that he helped them at the end like that. Comey is just a little to in love with his goodness--and it shows on this book tour extravaganza. I truly despise Trump and anything that brings him down a notch and reveals his immorality and corruption is just fine with me. Comey better be careful what this book tour reveals about him.
1
A lot of the talking heads on television are complaining about Comey taking on Trump's physical appearance. It's a non-issue. I don't believe people that will buy Comey's book care about that. It's small potatoes. It's the news media making an issue of it. Much ado about nothing.
2
I share Mr Bruni's distaste for Mr Comey's low road comments, but to the extent that they draw in and then inform readers and viewers who would otherwise be watching Real Housewives of Wherever etc, I do believe that they may serve a valuable purpose.
1
Since watching the interview, I have been unable to define my conflicted feelings about Mr. Comey. Thank you for clarifying for me.
Mr. Comey has something to contribute to shining a very credible light on Donald Trump and the amoral culture of the Trump administration, as well as his valuable insight as to the ongoing investigations. Unfortunately, Comey's bruised ego got in the way and he rolled in the mud with Trump, which only served to make him look as small and petty as Trump.
Comey should have listened to Michelle & Barack Obama's mantra...gone high when others have gone low. Instead, he took a few inches off his very tall stature and sunk to Trump's height. Sad.
1
The final chapter has yet to be written in Trump's attempt to takedown the American judicial system, the DOJ and FBI. It is a fight to the death, as seen in the gross mischaracterizations in the Nunes memo and the attempt to correct in Schiffs response. The FBI has clearly backed Schiff's telling of the story and sees Trump and his gang as outlaws, in a 21st century Clint Eastwood western.
The climax will be whether DOJ/FBI will deny the allegation that they have proof of Cohen's trip to Prague. So far they have not, giving credence to the single most incriminating piece of evidence so far.
It will be this standard that Comey will be judged against. A seeker of truth or a victim of his own virtue.
For some reason, Comey decided he would write a book about his humiliating experiences with Donald Trump. We don't know the precise reasons, but it could be purely financial, or financial in the sense of sticking it to Trump, rubbing his nose in Comey's success by cashing in through exposing his flaws. Or it could be patriotic: he could genuinely fear for the country. Or it could be pure and simple getting even - i.e., revenge - for having his service and intergrity impugned by the president. We'll never know.
First of all, he was dissed personally and fired in as humiliating way as was possible. There is probably a "male-to-male" revenge factor, a sense that Comey was belittled as a man, and needed to fight back. Secondly, he felt it necessary to highlight class and intelligence (himself) over Trump's lowly mind and behavior. Third, it could be seen as an attempt to patriotically remind the country of the choice they made. This would be the noblest motivation.
1
Toward the end of the interview, Stephanopolous asked, "Did you fall in love with your own virtue?" Comey responded that his "guardrail for that" was "to surround myself with people who will hit that. Hit at the certainty. Hit at the pride to make sure I've thought about things well."
One little problem. He didn't listen to those people when they counseled him not to make a public statement just days before the election. Really smart people like Sally Yates and other DOJ staff who he should have listened to.
And yet Comey still doubles down, arguing his was the only right decision.
Comey is on the right side when it comes to the facts. But he still cannot acknowledge he let his ego get in the way in 2016.
2
I think the Hillel variation of the Golden Rule is wiser, because what one doesn't do is often more crucial than what one does. One wonders how Comey would have taken having his own nomination to FBI Director dithered as he did his investigation of use of e-mail servers during a rapidly developing integration of the internet into daily reality.
1
It's interesting that the media that has been attacking Trump no-holds-barred is now taking the "high road" when it comes to Mr. Comey. He knows the president better than any of the journalists writing about Trump. I admire Mr. Comey for having the courage to tell the truth and I'm pleased that he's eliciting childish responses from Trump--not that that's apparently very difficult to do.
2
"Comey, for example, mentions his experience in two administrations before Trump’s and has judicious complaints about members of each. He thus makes clear his broad frame of reference and ability to find flaw on both sides of the aisle."
I saw that as a way to seem impartial, disinterested - a sly attempt to give himself more cred.
And Comey's Ultimate Victory is - that he might be first who told us ''the truth'' and nothing but the truth about Trump.
after years of distraction - where journalists pretended over and over again that the ''salacious material'' is ''the distraction''-
As we now know - that all the ''political'' writing was the distraction from the Truth of Pee - I can't thank Comey enough!
1
Mr. Bruni, your view is accurate. It is a high-minded assessment of Comey's attempt to angle a mirror back at Trump. To suggest that Comey is trying to win a battle and not the war maybe true. But it feels good and not all wars are won in the mind on a higher plain. Perhaps his irreverant truth is but a part of what will bring down this house of cards.
3
The main difference between James Comey & Donald Trump:
"One of them has a conscience, and one does not"!
Both men are presumed; "Human" - and as such are quite capable of making mistakes.
One man has the capacity to recognize their mistakes, and one does not.
I do not think that nearly "all of us" has a thorough understanding of what the job of FBI Director truly entails.
Of course we all have stress in our lives - but being the head of the FBI !
Yes, James Comey made some mistakes . . . there's that pesky "human quality" -
However, James seems to have faced his demons and acknowledges them.
He also shows a deep spiritual reflection of these mistakes and has the ability of self analysis to be extremely proud of his tremendous service to our country and the rule of law.
The Big Picture of one man;
An Honest and Loyal Man who upheld his oath to our country.
The Big Picture of "the other man";
Well, that seems to be a subject of great concern and is being duly investigated (finally) by fine American Prosecutors who have lifetimes of doing their jobs to the letter of their post in a non-partisan manner.
5
I think Mr. Bruni and most of the other commentators completely miss the the tragic/heroic/comedic moment represented by Mr. Comey's revaluation of values in a post-modern age. Here is a man who contentiously tried to combine Christian ethics with Neibuhr's rationalistic understanding of a pathway joining intelligent enlightenment values with the sophisticated psychological understanding of human evil. While the majority of Christians in America rejected any integration of the enlightenment into their beliefs and have regressed into a naive tribalism, Comey saw himself as striving to model the "moral man in an immoral world". The fascinating and heroic thing about Comey is that he I'm sure he is very aware of "how low" he has sunk, and he has done so willingly with the calculation that, in this post-modern world where the "appearance of truth in media" as overwhelmed his old and now naive view of truth as "corresponding to facts" he would meet the new challenge of changing history head-on with the new tools that have lately come into his hands. He has learned how publicity unhinged to reality can have real results and has dirtied his hands for, I'm sure in his view, the greater good. So really, we should all be amazed that this old self-righteous g-man, can transform his deeply held ideology to try and become relevant. Yes, he is clumsy at it but my God, the man really does embody the much larger struggle for moral purpose in a post-modern ethical landscape.Neibhur 2018
9
One simply cannot rely upon a nonexistent personality of nature to provide one with any purpose other than passing the philosophical conundrum on to the next generation.
Comey writes a 500 page book detailing important, factual legal allegations against the president and the strong possibility of a Constitutional crises.
Frank Bruni and an unfortunately large portion of the media focus on a small handful of obliquely ad homenim passages and discredit the credibility of the book and Mr. Comey.
I often agree with Mr. Bruni on many things, but here he is the one stooping to Trump's reality TV standards.
19
Without reserve, I applaud James Comey's book and interviews. He is demonstrating how Americans must resist dangerous leaders - by speaking truthfully, directly, and forcefully. He's chosen this approach thoughtfully in an effort to improve our country. It would be heartening if his audience were to listen carefully.
11
Comey rendered a public opinion on a closed investigation contrary to policy. He was a loose cannon.
I cannot imagine reading 900 pages of him.
It seems that this is a continuation of his past practices. As a member of law enforcement, it was not his job to go on TV and say that he had decided to not press charges with HRC and then trash her. He was supposed to turn over to justice what he found and let them do their job. I wonder if he likes the limelight. Also, this is a way for him to make a ton of money. This is not what you expect from a sitting or former Director.
2
Comey did exactly what he says he didn't want to do: cast Hillary as an even more illegitimate president. than Trump.
Yeah yeah, no no.
Comey is playing the long game. He's always going to be in the right, cause he's a man of virtue. Trump can't drag him down. Comey has nothing to lose. Doesn't play the same game. He's antagonizing him. Not that it is his motive to antagonize him - it isn't - it is about ideals. Trump's been seriously mired by this. More than any scandal, previously.
Ha ha. It's funny. How come DC has failed to ostracize Trump, yet? Makes no sense. Go Comey.
7
Frank, if you were fired in the way that Comey was fired, don't you think you just might make a few unflattering remarks about your former boss? Comey is every bit a human as the rest of us.
If the press did not "play up" the comments and stuck to an interview of substance, you and others might just ignore the pettiness of the physical description of Trump.
I personally hate it when the press mentions Trump's physical appearances. It lends nothing to the story, except to maybe upping the ante on who is going to win the pettiness war.
The substance of Comey's description of what he observed that should make us all even more nervous about the character or lack thereof of Trump is accurate. Trump proves that with every tweet and every act.
That is what needs to be paid attention to in Comey's book
Maybe part of Comey's Marketing agreement with the publisher puts him in the position of describing Trump's personal appearance and Trump's apparent personal peccadillos. Maybe not. Comey only put in the book regarding those personal items that the press has constantly written or televised.
If I were a book critic I would say that these comments do not add to the value of the book, but neither do the comments take away from the importance of Comey's story.
12
Frank is not the first journalist, columnist and pundit to make this observation. Chuck Todd was disappointed in the "pettiness" of the book as well. I understand the arguments, but I keep coming back to the dignity Hillary exhibited on the debate stage with Bill's "women" in front of her and being called "a nasty woman." She wasn't rewarded for taking a "higher ground." I believe at one point she was considered less "likeable" than Trump!
I honestly do not care if Comey or Rubio or Clinton want to get into petty insults. Have at it.
9
I am no fan of James Comey but no, you're wrong Mr. Bruni. You and Republican critics make Comey's book and interview tour sound like Donald Trump sounds and tweets every waking moment. Comey cites facts and astute observations about Trump's lack of moral character, especially his pathological lying. As a point of reference which speaks volumes about Trump's priorites as leader of the free world, Comey referenced, as an aside, some of Trump's vanity obsessions, his "real" hair and extra large hands. among other bizarre Trump fixations. All fair and appropriate with respect to the worst, most unqualified, morally unfit President in our history.
10
If this type and level of hand-wringing that Mr. Bruni displays in going so far as to use the word "showboating" on Comey is going to greet the eventual Democratic presidential candidate, the dems are doomed.
Put differently: Trump will have reserved to himself both the use of venal, crass attacks, and all responses to those attacks that are delivered with anything less than the dispassion and colorlessness of stereo instructions.
Wake up, Frank.
5
Yours seems to be a common opinion of pundits from the middle to the left, that Comey lowers himself to Trump's level and thereby debases his message. I don't think so. Those in the media close to the issues may be hoping for a messiah of perfection from on high who will never come. We watching from a distance are gladdened that Comey is speaking truth to a lying and malevolent power.
9
I thought Comey's comments about Trump's appearance and masculinity were likely well thought out, with the purpose of giving Trump a deliberate, if primal, message: you're not the only silverback in the world and I'm walking right into your jungle to take your territory.
91
The ABC interview was poorly edited. You know when you see the start of 60 Minutes and they show a few key tidbits of an interview, then rewind to start a cohesive narrative? I thought I was watching those opening segments for a bit until I realized that this was the main event; they weren’t going to tell a narrative. In fact, they skipped around from one topic to another, then back to the first, then onto something else, now backwards again. Ugh.
I still have not forgiven Comey for what he did to Clinton. He kneecapped her, but still refuses to admit it to himself or the country.
Despite all of this, Comey remains credible on Trump’s illicit and illegal behavior. I just hope he doesn’t blow his credibility before Mueller calls him to testify.
3
“Smaller than mine,” Comey writes, but not “unusually so.” I found that passage hilarious - intended or not. The orange skin and white moons - evidence of a vain man maintaining a fake tan.
The mafia comment describes the Trump MO.
Comey has a reputation for being a bit holier than thou, which I'm sure can be insufferable, and as you mention Frank, he has a certain primness. Why are so many commenters offended at this article?
What happened to nuance? It's not an all or nothing deal. Anyway, Comey is clearly not perfect. We hated him when he lectured Hillary about her email server and we blamed him for her loss when he mentioned the newly found emails.
Now we love him unconditionally because he is bashing Trump and lecturing him on what it takes to be a true leader?
Frankly with Hillary I think Comey was worried about his own reputation. I think this Trump book is more evidence of that - concern for his own reputation. In the book that's fair enough.
I think he reveals his motives as well, which are not pure, regardless of how much he opines about his own imperfections.
1
I agree with those who argue there’s no other way to confront a figure as toxically nihilistic as Trump.
We’re now long past the point where one could shock the nation into a state of collective sobriety by challenging a national bully with: “Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?”
4
"But in succumbing to this sort of showboating and spite, hasn’t Comey joined Trump almost as much as he’s defying him?"
What does Comey have to lose? Maybe that's the reason he's one of the people doing the right thing, fighting fire with fire.
3
Comey invokes the high moral road for his behavior. Let us not forget that more deaths are attributed to religions and the high moral road than almost any other thing. He and the FBI seem to be justifying almost anything and possibly even murder for the patriot theme and the high moral road. What a Joke. Enforce the laws, period. Stop worrying about the image of the FBI and DOJ, I don't remember that being in the constitution. Justice should be blind and delivered evenly. Your a public servant, start acting like it or get fired. Comey is a flip flopping, very muddled thinker. It appears that these career agents have a repertoire of justifications for their behavior that have become the culture of the organization. They seem to have confidence in coming to rapid conclusions based on surface analysis like the tie length and personal demeanor. That has nothing to do with enforcing the law. It has a lot to do with destroying freedom. Any judge would shut them up immediately. It does provide an elitist attitude for doing whatever they want, as we have seen so clearly from them. Comey has revealed the flaws of the FBI, he makes it look weak and insecure. He looks like he is desperate and tiny in stature. I agree, he has shrunk the FBI, to a untrustworthy group of liars and manipulators, interested more in themselves than in doing their job. Sad. I thank Trump for bringing this all forward.
Unbelievably, James Comey states that polls, where Hillary was leading, were a factor in the handling of the Clinton Email probe. In other words, he was making decisions based on the fact that he thought she was going to win, and he wanted a job. The idea that he is making law enforcement decisions based on a false notion of how a political election is going to come out is outrageous. Doesn’t that fly in the face of what he supposed to be doing as a law enforcement official? And Comey was head of our FBI.
Ultimately, it confirms to the American public that the people at the highest level of our Intelligence Community personally hated Trump. You have Jim Comey, you have the CIA director, John Brennan, you have Sally Yates at the DOJ, and you have FBI investigators Strzk and Page. It feeds into the narrative that people inside the government were out to get a duly elected President and it really muddies the waters for the Mueller investigation.
This is the stuff of Third World Banana State Republic tactics or the KGB not of the United States.
1
Frank, you go too far when you say "in succumbing to this sort of showboating and spite, hasn’t Comey joined Trump almost as much as he’s defying him?" Perhaps you expected a soulless scholarly book on the events that so dramatically played out when Trump fired Mr. Comey, but Mr. Comey is trying to convey what the President is really like, with all the disgusting details. By not writing a detached dry account of Trump's unconscionable behavior, Mr. Comey is doing a service to this country by letting Americans see just how debauched their president is.
6
Why shouldn't Comey fight Trump on his own terms? The political establishment, hovering ten-thousand feet above, is achieving exactly six-tenths of nothing. Comey is putting his boots on the ground, and for the people who actually fight, that means getting them dirty.
4
The same thing happened to Marco Rubio. His star began fading just as soon as he got down on Donald Trump's level and started talking about the size of Trump's hands.
2
Mostly I can't help but think that Trump is everything they say he is, and they are everything Trump says they are. You get the government you deserve, I suppose.
Play Trump's game on moral, patriotic terms and you lose every time. Play Trump's game on Trump's terms and you win every time. Trump's incapacity for truth and native narcicism always expose him. His incompetence leads to economic, social and political bankruptcy, sadly for those around him.
How can you claim a victory for Trump when the polls show sympathy for Comey by a wide margin?
Trump needs to receive some of his own medicine and get roughed up a little. Be certain he is having more sleepless nights than his adversaries, Comey included.
3
Always a joy to read those in the media perfectly willing to earn their keep flying to every shiny object in sight, then decrying the results of their own efforts. Mr. Bruni, you, like everyone else in the media today, are as much to blame for the food fight as anyone. Until you wake up and admit that, you're just another piece of the problem.
1
Thank you Mr. Brun for your impartiality. You are right. Everyone is obsessed with "fame". Comey behavior is unbecoming of a senior civil servant.
1
It's amazing the number of people who claim to be defending ethical and moral behavior and who feel truth should be paramount, but who also, somehow, seem to help Trump in the process. All the members of Congress who claim Trump's behavior is a big problem, but then call him the greatest president of all time. I mean it's like a priest who gives great sermons and goes to visit the sick and dying in their homes, but who also keeps the altar boys far too long after the service. And the one person who wonders out loud what is going on in the sacristy after mass is viewed as not credible because he was on the committee that unanimously chose the pastor and is seen going to confession every Saturday. Do I think Comey should have just rode off into the sunset? Yeah. I do. But he's not telling me anything I don't already know: Trump is like the parishioner who fills the collection basket on Sunday and runs a protection racket and patronizes prostitutes Monday through Saturday. There are many who want to name the church hall in his honor for "all he has done for the parish". I soundly rejected that long before Comey put pen to paper. Or is it massive fingers to keyboard? The book will eventually hit the "bargain" shelf in bookstores. Sellers won't be able to give it away. But this American nightmare won't end as long as Republicans just want to move Trump to a different parish. And deny anything wrong has gone on.
1
Mr. Bruni, I am a longtime fan, but am disappointed in this column. There is a much bigger picture here, and in the most meta of ways, you, too, have degraded yourself by denigrating another. I understand (and see) the trees you’re describing, but you’re disappointingly missing the forest.
2
Why is there so much attention on a few phrases from Comey's book that toss back some vitriol toward Trump? I would rather focus on the FACTS that Comey has presented in typeface that will live in the archives of non-fiction from the era of this disastrous president. And then there is our hunger for a knight in shining armor to rescue us from a dragon that WE created. I saw the interview with Comey, and while I agree that the barbs were unnecessary, did not feel that Comey's focus was to return bully, but rather that the motive for his writing of this book was a patriotic effort to chronicle the events so that maybe future generations could avoid the pitfalls of repeating history that harms our Republic. Let's leave Comey's couple of digs alone. He is entitled to them.
1
By all means, let Comey tear down Trump. Bruni is wrong that this will aid Trump.
Regardless of what Republican politicians think, there is an independent part of the electorate out there who will decide for themselves, juat as they did in 2016.
The FBI is hardly an honorable organization, having a long history of violating the Bill of Rights, and Comey was right down there in the mud already as its head. And his deliberately timed false report of a possible investigation of Clinton just before the election was unforgivable.
But if Comey's testament against Trump helps to bring down the infant-in-chief, I'm not going to dis it.
1
Exactly what is needed. Sparing us the equal-time-for-opposing-views practices by people who are morally compromised.
Comey sure has got the whole Mean Girl thing down. I thought it was sly and amusing. More worrying is an important witness talking all over town-- but maybe Comey knows Obstruction is small potatoes compared to what they really know about Trump.
1
perhaps the attitude employed by comey says "i've got the goods on this guy, they're YUGE, it is unfathomable. he's just getting back what he's given. don't care for my demeanor? fine, look at the facts." comey has my support, the guy's got……what do they call it again…."integrity".
I beg to disagree. Comey has as much right to his memoir as any other private citizen has. Trump's cult followers don't need his help to remain Trump worshippers. And so what if Comey sells more books as a result?
Comey is admirable in some ways, but he’s a mixed signal guy. Like with his Clinton email speech, he’s now adding to our national confused muddle---each side will use him to buttress its views.
Comey was humiliated at being fired, then finding out on TV in front of other people. Yikes.
Fox News is now insulting Comey non stop with a string of guests. Boo.
The anti Trumps shouldn’t help normalize gross name calling, personal venting of spleen, or exaggeration of what’s already too exaggerated. Let Trump be shown as a gross contrast with more ethical, non egotist, intelligent officials.
Before we can make American great again, we have to make it decent again. Even the GOP once had moderates with a sense of civic duty. We need positive role models to start an upward political spiral to replace the negative spiral.
If we build, instead of tearing down or normalizing political brutality, then we'll avoid another Trump for our grandkids.
The revered Comey is now a character in our political Reality TV Series. As Frank says --- “The former head of a supposedly scrupulous, detached federal agency reaching for Mafia metaphors” and is “is playing Trump’s game.” Now Trump/Fox GOP media will just up the level of spite/insult. More hand and skin comparisons?
We have to face---what’s the ultimate Trump damage if he transforms our politics beyond decency and judgment? Future greedy, domineering Trump type egotists are waiting in the wings. They’ll get financing.
Comey is a modern day hero. Perhaps some of his comments were a little ‘mean’, but he has been defamed and called a ‘leaker’ and a ‘criminal’ by Trump, what’s a guy supposed to do? I wonder if the references to skin tone, eye bags etc were a ruse to wind up the occupant of the WH, make him so cross that he made an even bigger fool of himself than he has already. On that note, it worked. I don’t blame Comey at all for letting some of personal hurt and animosity out, he was treated appallingly.
A Higher Loyalty had sold 200,000 copies in the first week (and that’s rising); that was before any TV appearances/interviews. That’s a lot of books! People are very interested in what Comey has to say. I wonder how that stacks up with sales of the ghost written Trump comics.
1
Had Malala written a book maligning her attackers, would Brunei have attacked her for not being balanced in her narrative. Please, books are social media’s hard copy.
In a transparent government faces would come to light by their own volition. We do not have a transparent government. Voila the book tour.
"It gives Trump’s allies plenty to attack him with, and it has goaded Trump — predictably — into his most infantile epithets."
The above quote is exactly the reason I cringed when I heard Comey's physical description of Trump. Do Trump's sycophants need any more fodder to throw at Comey, Mueller or the DOJ? Besides, it's what lurks on the inside of Donald Trump that worries me not his physical appearance. Although I have to admit goading Trump into his "most infantile epithets" does add to revealing his inner self.
That being said I think Comey "nailed it" in the way this administration operates and Trump's apparent lack of the values so many of us hold dear.
Hopefully, the timing of the book and interviews will in no way negatively affect a possible obstruction of justice case. I was also leary about bringing in his family, but not for the same reason as Mr. Bruni. Remember the attacks on Andrew McCabe because of his wife's run as a Democratic candidate? Think about what he said about his wife and daughters-- more fodder for his detractors?
I completely agree with this editorial. The personal remarks undermine Comey's credibility, and he stoops to the pettiness that is the essence of Trump. He is not alone in succumbing to this temptation, though. But I thought he was above it, so I was very disappointed.
1
Don't agree that Comey has lowered the FBI. And am going to buy his book just to make it clear where my vote lies. I encourage others to enrage Trump by making the book a runaway bestseller, and thank Comey for speaking truth to power and not being prissy about doing so.. Again the left thinks that it can somehow be prim and proper and deal with Trump and his base. Comey and Stormy Daniels, with the help of brilliant lawyers like Michael Avenati are vital in this fight. We just saw Robert Muller make a brilliant tactical move in the battle by tossing the ball Michael Avenati and Stormy Daniels gave him to the Sate of NY which takes the battle outside Trump's firing and pardoning power, and also puts a powerful winch to make Michael Cohen,who knows everything sing. If the crimes Michael Cohen is accused of involve substantial jail time and are not federal crimes , he will almost certainly testify against Trump. We can thank Stormy Daniels and Michael Avenati for this, along with Mueller and team's brilliance in knowing what to do with the opportunity which was tossed to them.
2
I can't remember any time that people with power and fame get into mud fights with others, that the mud doesn't stick long past the time when the fight might be over.
The man in the WH is a professional mud slinger. Comey is learning that slinging it back is going to backfire onto him because one cannot overcome the Master of Mud.
However, that said, it makes those who believe the Master and those who believe his reluctant acolyte divide more sharply into their already 'heels dug in' bias.
And nothing will change.
I totally disagree with Frank Bruni. Comey is 100 percent right, what he's doing needed to be done. In his own way, not is anybody else's - your or mine - ways.
2
Comey has every right to mildly troll Trump and the media, including Mr Bruni. Good for him. It doesn't hurt the FBI, especially compared to the sustained, Machiavellian assault of the institution by the Trump defenders. He doesn't even work there any more.
This is the Trump 'magic'. He recently called Comey a "slimeball", but instead of writing an op-ed about how incredibly rude, inappropriate, and damaging to our country that behavior of Trump's is, Mr Bruni frets about a couple of very mild lines in Comey's book that were a response to having his job and life changed by Trump.
Really?
Hand-wringing is not going to rescue our country's values from this sustained assault by Trump and those who support him without integrity.
1
Where were all of these Comey defenders when he was being run over the coals for his investigation of Clinton? My heart went out to this honorable man. He was put in a difficult situation by Loretta Lynch when asked to make the decision as to whether or not to prosecute Hillary. In fact, because of his righteousness and his need to preserve his reputation for fairness, he felt the need to publicly chastise Hillary after deciding not to... because he knew she technically broke the law and he, along with most people, felt that it was okay to let her off because of course everyone all know Hillary would never be up to something nefarious. He is now compelled to a greater extent to somehow warn the masses about what they are up against but I agree that he is sounding too spiteful and that just justifies the argument that there has been bias from the beginning of the investigation into "collusion with Russia" and that the establishment is out to get the inexperienced outsider with his disagreeable politics.
This has always been the problem with fighting Trump: Do you stay dignified and high, or do you sink to his level? The confounding thing about it is that whichever way you go, he just seems to keep on winning. His followers never change their minds, no matter what we do or say.
The book is not quite out yet. Let's read it in its entirety before we cast aspersions.
Comey continues to assert and insert himself into the news as opposed to doing what is right and remaining silent until his testimony is needed. He commented publicly not once, but twice about the infamous e mails giving fodder to the chants of lock her up. He remained silent about Russia's meddling and interference in our electoral process and possible collusion and investigations into the Trump campaign because he " feared it could tilt the outcome of the election". More nonsense. We deserved to know and make an informed decision. I think many including President Obama were afraid that if they told the truth about Russia's role in the election it would add to Trump's constant cacophony about the primary and then general election being rigged. Understand the process was rigged except when Trump won! More evidence that he was and is morally unfit to be the leader of the free world. Comey aided and abetted him during the campaign and now probably helped Trump escape obstruction charges by destroying his value as a witness with his tell all book and publicity tour. Would like to see the door close once and for all on Jim Comey and all his phony self righteousness.
Well he is trying to get redemption. It’s over, and that’s how it played out. If we don’t turn congress democratic, it’s on the voters
I am certainly sympathetic, Frank, to the idea that if Comey tries to get down in the gutter with Trump, he's playing into Trump tactics and will get just as grimy.
Problem is, though, that when you attempt to take the high road in this country, you will get some kudos from the chattering class who were taught that one should put the argument above the person, but you'll get a lot more catcalling for being an elitist egghead--not a real person, not "one of us"--from the far greater mass of anti-intellectuals we like to cultivate here. Generally, to get your argument noticed, you have to do something to have it stand out from the cacaphony. Usually involves starting with the witty catcall or the personal insult.
I suspect that a lot of the media is complicit in this, as others here have remarked, helping to spotlight comments about Trump's hands and maybe minimizing the constitutional issues Comey's book brings up. But, of course, constitutional issues are more important to you as a columnist and political writer, and, admittedly, to me and many of the other well-informed commenters here, than they are for the grand majority of people out there for whom they are, well, boring. As noted, those people won't read the book anyway--they'll just see the TV appearances. And I'm sure TV people do encourage Comey to play to the hyperbolic style of that medium.
It's unfortunante, but often you have to fight fire with fire rather than with water.
1
Perhaps, Mr. Bruni, you are unaware that one of the many reasons Trump won the election was the fact that, as a new personality in the news, he got a much greater amount of free media, compared to Clinton. And in the course of time, the novelty of his appearances wore off and viewers and voters took note of his message and positions.
Comey is doing exactly the same thing. He's new to 'earned air time', and he is coming across as not what the public expects of an FBI agent, or head. He's showing the public his private side. How he felt after the loss of a child. How he felt with a gun pressed to his head. How very human he is.
After the novelty wears off, we the public will have heard his observations stated over and over, ending with the 'morally unfit' to be president.
1
Yeah, Comey should have said, "The facts, ma'am. Just the facts." He should have argued about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and an abrogation of duty. But he didn't.
As for airing Clinton's stuff publicly because Comey thought she was going to win, that was just a horrible judgment call.
24
What really gets me is that Comey STILL thinks his rogue decision did not affect the outcome of the 2016 election. Wow, REALLY?!
I have read several critiques of Casey and in normal times I would agree with them. But these are not normal times. Mr. Casey may not be perfect, but I sure am glad that he brought up the subject of Trump's moral fitness for office,
because someone in a current or former position of leadership had to.
There is something comforting in criticizing his approach. It implies that all is well. That this is just another dispute between two people of power. That we can all just look the other way.
No, these are NOT normal times. The man in our highest office *is* morally unfit to be there. The man in our highest office DOES act like a mafia boss. And I welcome any help from anyone, no matter how imperfect, to do what can be done to remove him.
3
I tuned in at about the halfway point, had to immediately sit through 12 straight commercials, and then "the show" came back on and the production of it (some might indeed reference it as production value) was over the top and offensive. Almost like a docudrama. Turned it off.
1
The phrase "fight fire with fire" is enduring for a reason. It generally is a good approach.
2
Frank I agree with your response to Socrates. Comey should have been dignified and substantive. This would have been much more effective.
4
I reluctantly agree with Frank. I also suspect that the publisher, eyeing bigger sales, may have encouraged the emphasis on salacious material. But if Comey has the rectitude he says he has, he should have resisted.
4
''...may have encouraged the emphasis on salacious material.''
That made me smile - a book about a dude who is nothing else than ''salacious material'' gets criticized because it ''encouraged the emphasis on salacious material.''?
How funny is that?
2
Comey`s recent interview as I read in here is all about him falling from grace.
He reduced FBI to trump`s level which was not appreciated. Writing these tidbits in a book is okay to add some color to the book but openly talking about it is dangerous.
We all know trump`s personality even before he decide to run for President but FBI director should be above all, untouchable, away from political shenanigan.
Now, shrinking to the level of trump , Comey will also be known as the FBI director who was political and decided the fate of America by making trump the 45th President .
5
Totally agree. While Comey's characterizations of Trump may be 100% accurate, placing one's faith in the integrity of civil servants over elected officials tends to lead to dictatorships.
It may seem convenient at the time, but it is not a road worth traveling.
1
"Placing one's faith in the integrity of civil servants over elected officials tends to lead to dictatorships".
I totally disagree.
Trump was an appointed leader due to the antiquated electoral college while only being elected by about 35% of all eligible voters.
That is percentage is about the same as the ones an Austrian paper hanger won on Jan.30th, 1933.
2
What a bizarre notion--why wouldn't you put your faith in professionals, in people who understand how the system works? In a time when politicians are lining their pockets illegally and with impunity? I would suggest that you read Weber's classic accounts of bureaucracy.
I agree with you Mr. Bruni. You can not beat Mr. Trump at name calling and denigration. He is a master of it and is totally unrestrained. While the resistance continues a pace, his numbers are sliding up. Though he is at 40 or 42 percent approval, remember those numbers are skewed because he is in the thirties in California, New York, Vermont etc. He is going to be reelected unless we change course. This means disagree strongly with his policies but otherwise ignore him.
63
Thanks for writing in and looking beyond the column itself to a topic of much discussion and debate and of keen relevance, at least if you believe, as I do and as you apparently do, that voting in a Congressional gauntlet against Trump in 2018--and then voting him out in 2020--is incredibly important. Is that done by a furious back-and-forth that brings out, and focuses on, his terrible character, which has been known to voters for a long time? Or is it done with a cool-headed scrutiny of his articulated plans, enacted policies and their consequences? For instance, the recent news about the ballooning federal debt got eclipsed by Cohen and Comey and the rest of it. That's worrisome.
62
Saggio -- "Though he is at 40 or 42 percent approval, remember those numbers are skewed because he is in the thirties in California, New York, Vermont etc."
That is exactly how he got elected in the first place.
Preaching to the choir, and with a repeat of the message that lost, is a recipe for a repeat of the result.
It requires more than disagreement. It requires better ideas, ideas sold to the voters as better for them.
8
Actually you can beat Trump at this game. Comey is the new kid in town, taking on the old champ that everyone - even his base - have seen ad nauseam. And he isn't calling him any names!
2
So you wonder whether Comey loses his message / credibility by losing his dignity?
I see it as a kind of fight fire with fire thing.
Trump is a street fighter. Comey is more Marquise of Queensbury.
What you see as loss of dignity may, in Comey's mind, be fighting Trump on Trump's terms because that's how to score a win that will resonate. And that seems to be Comey's goal.
It's early days yet in this battle. And you don't get to be head of the FBI without being a seriously tough guy on some level. Nobody's down for the count yet.
140
Totally agree. You have to beat T at his own game by upping the ante, not by "taking the high road". T doesn't travel that road.
11
Talbot, thanks for reading the column and participating in the conversation. Your "fight fire with fire" line made me want to digress and mention something from the world of entertainment that speaks in very small part to this conversation and to the column's questions about Comey's book and its rollout. On Sunday night's episode of "The Good Fight," which is "The Good Wife" sequel that streams on CBS All Access, a group of lawyers auditions to be hired for a D.N.C. plan to begin impeachment of Trump in January 2019, presuming Democrats control the House. One lawyer starts to relate a series of horrible accusations of gross offenses by Trump. To each, her audience says, "Is that true?", but she just moves on to the next and next accusation. At the end, she says that what we should learn from Trump is that truth doesn't matter, just keep the riveting material coming. That's how he plays, she says, that's how we should. I disagree, of course. That's "fire with fire" to an incendiary apocalypse. (And, to be clear, in providing this digression, I am not saying Comey is doing ANYTHING in the vicinity of what the show's lawyer suggests. I think Comey traffics in truth. I'm just relaying one extreme vision of "fire with fire.")
12
Frank--I'm honored that you chose to reply to my comment. The Comey-Trump battle reminds me of something my husband and an old male friend tried to teach me long ago. A competitive male coworker was doing everything he could to undermine me. I tried ignoring it, figuring out what I could do to improve our relationship, more regular communications, etc. It just got worse. And both my husband and friend said, guys learn on the playground that when someone comes at you from nowhere, you have to take him out. I think that's what Comey is doing. Trump came at him, and how Comey is dedicated to demolishing him.
The media has elected what they wanted to share and by all accounts that is a biased selections. People are not just a singular entity, they have multiple perspectives given the situation. I find it fascinating that the personal "look" of Trump are of interest even to me.It doesn't mean that I am not am honorable or lacking integrity in certain areas, it make me human to want to see someone who attacks others so viciously about their looks, seen by a person who has integrity. I can understand the sadness that Frank Bruni has when again a role model doesn't maintain the ideals he has set for them, but the lack of acceptance of human complexity is what got Hillary in trouble when she diminished Trump followers as "a basket of deplorable". Stepping back from ideals for others and adding in acceptance might be a better way for Bruni to "see" Comey.
25
You're of course right, Ellen, that human beings are complicated and that we in the media too often want to assign them white hats and black hats and cast them in archetypal roles that they'll never play as tidily as we might like them to, in the service of a clean narrative. Comey can indeed be plenty virtuous and plenty spiteful, fixated on higher ideals but capable of lower insults, etc. But I mean in the column to address what his approach to the book and his rollout do both to his public image and to his effectiveness as a crucial witness against Trump. And my concerns, I notice, were echoed in this piece that our news side published several hours after my column. (The news and editorial sides don't coordinate.) https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/16/us/politics/james-comey-trump-book.ht...
7
Thank you I did read it. I liked this quote-
" As for his willingness to engage in Trumpian insults, invoking the size of the president’s hands, his allies argue that he is simply attempting to paint vivid scenes and does the same with the other presidents he served." While I am all about facts, or those we postulate as facts, creating scenes for the reader is what I understand as creative non fiction. Non-fiction can be quite difficult to engage in when you are not conversant with the topic, and creating scenes can help those of us who are lacking the experience of person who lives and breathes the experience every day. Perspective is very personal isn't it ?
Comey has every right to share his thoughts about and experiences with the president, but he should have waited till the investigation was complete. The book feeds into the fiction that the FBI and the Justice Department have an axe to grind in this entire matter. It will be used in an effort to fire Rosenstein and Mueller. And (as a potential witness in the proceeding), Comey should have waited.
4
I agree that it's a bit disappointing to see Comey tip toe into Entertainment Tonight territory. However, right now no one knows how the Trump era will end - will the first amendment emerge unscathed?
Comey was in the room alone at crucial moments of this fiasco and although some of his comments may seem to be "TMI" they nevertheless have immense historical value given Comey's apparent truthfulness. In fact, if Trump eventually prevails herein Comey's book may survive as the only accurate published historical record of some key historic events in the event Trump eventually gets to rewrite the rules of journaliam given his expressed desire to change libel/slander laws?
There's too much at stake here to allow literary perfection to be the enemy of historical good.
11
I'm proud of Comey. Standing up and saying what needs to be said about Trump. That he is morally unfit to be president. Most people in the country will not read the book but will more likely watch television. So if you believe you have an important message to convey get it out to the masses. In my opinion Comey is a hero.
17
Frank -- You could also have written that this joust pits a book publisher against the Republican National Committee and the White House, with the news media gleefully acting as host for the televised sparring.
That's not a fair fight, given the fact that the RNC gets its financial contributions from the wealthiest of the wealthy who clearly love Trump's deconstruction of civil society. Advertising goes only so far; propaganda persists, like an oil slick in your garage.
10
The minute the media, print and television alike, focuses on the Bright Shiny Object model of reportage, the more we descend into irrelevance. Trump tweets, Buzzfeed dumps the dossier and yes, Comey talks of hands and hair and we are drawn like moths to the flame to the juicy bits. But this takes us ever farther from the center and from the truth.
In fifty years my grandchildren will wonder what made us lose our way. Well, children, we had guides that told us what was important. Two thousand years ago it was the Roman legion marching behind the banner declaring "SPQR" (Senatus Populusque Romanus "The Senate and People of Rome") whose imprimatur they carried. Today, it's the masthead reading "All the News That's Fit to Print".
Remember when a television broadcast ends, only a faint echo remains in the ether. After a newspaper is printed, it lines the bottom of a birdcage or wraps fish, options which are at least recycling as we approach Earth Day.
I think the writer of this article is still living under the illusion that dignity, grace, respectability, norms, and yes, the truth, will eventually prevail over Trump. That hasn't been the case for almost three years now. Personally, I'm happy to see people like Comey and even Stormy Daniels' lawyer fighting Trump with his own tactics. We need to save this country, and "going low" might be the only way to do it.
22
On one level I agree with Frank. Comey is lowering himself talking about trumps hands, skin and hair. He is doing what trump does, make fun of peoples looks. On the other hand we really need to turn around the people that still believe and support trump. The only way they will read and maybe believe the things Comey says is to make it a tabloid story.
11
Do you really think his followers read?
Comey may be bringing it down to Trump territory, but is he or we to blame?
If Comey went out promoting a book on the importance of truth, ethics and morality, he’d get no coverage. Unfortunately, unless it’s outrageous, Many Americans won’t tune in. The difference, though, is the truth is on Comey’s side. This quite serious. If it takes a carnival show to get that across, so be it.
The difference between Trump and Comey is miles and miles away from each other.
30
Thanks Frank. The last view is the one everyone remembers. A pity for Mr. Comey. He's better than this.
4
I think your column falls short--what you wanted was for Comey's interview(s) to be far superior to Trump's non-stop rants, yes? So that it would be clear to even the Fox viewers that Comey is a true American and the hero in this mess. I want that too and believe Comey has delivered.
34
Frank, the high road is usually the preferred road.
However, I’m afraid that in Trump’s case, it was the high road that got us into this situation in the first place.
Sometimes, Frank, one needs to fight fire with fire.
53
I think that Frank Bruni has missed the point here on more than one level.
There is an old expression never underestimate your enemy. That is true for all the players in this very high stakes poker game. All directors of the FBI since J. Edgar Hoover serve at the President's sufferance. Everything I have read about James Comey leads me to think he is bright enough to see his position as weak and knowing that when Trump was elected his days at the FBI were numbered.
This is a game that at times resembles Poker and in a larger sense it resembles Chess.
In poker it is unwise to tip your hand. Comey has not done that although it seems as if he has been at this table for a considerable time.
When it resembles chess it is played with the visibility of only some of the pieces.
The interviews are a way of reaching out to a larger audience than those who read his book. When he talks of Trumps salaciousness he is pointing to the pandering of Trump to the prurience in every aspect of our culture.
In essence I think he sees himself as the White Knight on the chessboard whose irregular moves accompanied by night vision binoculars allowing him to see all the pieces can save the situation.
Finally Trumps victory is US!
9
Ya, Frank, lets all do the honorable, righteous acts while Trump burns down the nation. By all means, lets not let him play us for suckers.
You forget that he already won. You forget that he's in the White House. You forget that if Comey hadn't written his book and if Comey wasn't promoting his book the day in and day out narrative would be Donald J Trump.
I listened to John Dean today make your case, too. But John Dean isn't Comey. John Dean hadn't been in Nixon's White House. If he had written a book while he was under scrutiny there were investigators and attorneys in DC who would have used it against him, not just to bring down Nixon.
Comey is not Dean. Comey is a guy who had to make the devil bargain. He could do take the Frank Bruni honorable road, and pander to the righteous, or he could call out Donald J Trump for the lying, amoral, sociopathic, abusing liar he is. As much to the point, Trump is likely guilty of treason. Read the New Yorker article, Frank. If the Russians don't have a dossier on this nut job who's our president it would mean that their much vaunted intelligence services are a total sham perpetrated on the West since Lenin.
They followed Trump all over. Forget the "tape." They don't need it. They have his criminal enterprises documented. He'll do anything to avoid being revealed for the loser he is.
And Comey is right to try to stop him.
75
Well argued. Frank Bruni may want to appeal to our better angels,but that doesn't help us resist those who would enslave us and rob us to further enrich themselves. Destroying Trump may sully our self image, butfighting back using whatever means at hand will regain us our self respect.
1
Please note that while I typed that Dean wasn't in Nixon's White House, I meant to make the point that he WAS in Nixon's White House and therefore had very different motives for not publishing. In addition, Nixon, for all of his faults, and they were legion, doesn't approach the amoral, sociopathic train wreck character that Trump is. And Nixon understood how government works, and should work. Trump cares only that he makes more money for himself and his selfish universe. Nixon wouldn't have left Puerto Rico a wreck as we approach 7 months since the storm ravaged the island. That America took pride in taking care of its own. This America prefers the controlled, good news of Reality Trump TV.
"John Dean hadn't been in Nixon's White House."
John Dean was White House Counsel for three years. He went to prison for his role in Nixon's White House.
1
If I were Mueller, particularly if Comey were a key witness to any evidence supporting the basis of criminal charges of substance against Trump, I would be furious with Comey. But then, I do not expect either a report supporting a criminal case against Trump nor an impeachment, before or after the midterms. Hence, if Comey’s calculus is that the only hope is an electoral one, silence is not an option. So far, I’m with Comey.
27
Take it easy Frank. Mr Comey is a hero in my book, a man of strong moral fiber, willing to let the facts speak for themselves. He is not sinking to the gutter but rising above the fray to depict in very unflattering terms the worst criminal ever to be president.
33
I have to figure that, at this point, having seen his life's work brought to an abrupt end through no fault of his own, James Comey personally has nothing left to lose, and is just looking to make a few bucks from what he no doubt experienced as a personal tragedy. And who can blame him? It's not really his job to save us from the worst in ourselves.
15
Comey fell into the same trap that Rubio fell into when he tried to match Trump insult for insult. Actually, Rubio was pretty good at it, but, whatever his political faults, he was too much of an adult to make it work---the same goes for Comey. Throughout the campaign I felt sorry for Trump's Republican challengers who kept trying to debate a middle schooler with adult discourses. More tragically, was the public in general and the Republican party in particular were excited about the prospect of having a middle schooler run the country.
19
Rubio is no Comey. He has no higher loyalty than his donors and no moral compass but he own self interest. Rubio is an empty suit.
I think Comey's case would be stronger if his focus was on more than just Trump's attempts to delegitimize the FBI and the Russia investigation. The fact is that before the outrageous lies about the size of his inaugural crowd there was the outrageous lie about Obama's birth certificate. And then the outrageous lie about the uranium deal and the Clinton foundation. And lies about the email server. And the attacks on the media.
Comey seriously misunderstood the way his pronouncements about Clinton would be taken by the public. I hope some interviewers ask him about the Clinton investigation and get him to explain exactly why there is no need for a criminal investigation.
5
This is the most astute reaction to the Comey interview I've seen so far. "To watch him promote [his book] is to see him descend" is exactly what I felt.
I can't comment on the book itself, but its very existence is a grave matter. It's probably a service to the country and a contribution to the historical record.
Sitting for an interview about the book was a natural and proper thing to do, regardless of its promotional value. I want to hear what James Comey has to say. I don't mind the fact that he's promoting a book.
But the celeb-style chat of which I saw excerpts made me feel a bit embarrassed for James Comey. It was unworthy of him (as I conceive of him) and of this moment in history.
9
Frank, as always, well done.
Your problem is my problem; when I read the work of young attorneys in my office, the difficulty is to ensure that my guidance is limited to accuracy and articulation. I diminish their work to feed my ego if I stray and impose my style of thinking, writing, or argument on their work-product.
While you "believe most and maybe all of what Comey has to say, and [that] much of it needs saying", you simply don't like his style.
Each of us, for unfathomable reasons, have a style we prefer; however, what gets said, and how that information resonates most effectively, is the speaker's choice based on an assessment of the intended audience. The people who most need to know "who and what Trump is" will know about this book, and the message in it, because of Mr. Comey's choice of style.
Mr. Comey has earned, as many of the young attorneys in my office have earned, the right to choose a style as long as the facts are true and the arguments are relevant. They are.
I am sure Mr. Comey could write and present these materials in a manner showcasing his privileged and lofty upbringing, education, and his profound intelligence. If that had been his stylistic choice the book would appear, receive some commentary in The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and NYT only to be ignored (not even forgotten) by those who need to know.
Because Mr. Comey has paid his dues and knows his topic, I applaud his effort (characteristic of him) and his choice of style.
133
Quite right, Michael Shirk, and to add to your thoughtful and sensitive narrative, Mr. Comey is also writing for history. In a few short years, Trump will be out of office (sooner better than later, I hope) and perhaps out of our lives completely. There will be another generation to follow who will need to read about the "glistening hair" and the "orange skin" in addition to the other far more important content in the book.
5
I agree Mr. Shirk, would only add that, for me, "going high" could include Mr. Comey's public announcement that all profits from his book would be donated to a non-profit charity or foundation that supports social justice, e.g.
Southern Poverty Law Center or the like.
He undoubtedly has a fine Federal Pension and
doesn't need to get rich off this debacle...
1
I read the references to hair, skin,"half Moons", et al., as indicators of careful observation and accurate memory.
The problem seems to be that no one who takes on Trump is as gifted at fighting dirty as he is. Not that The Donald is a wit- in fact, he's only half of one. Still, what we really need is someone who can respond to his childish insults with better and smarter ones. Trump the Insult Comic President, meet your match in Triumph the Insult Comic Dog! I'm guessing that Triumph's handlers (i.e., "writers") would jump at the chance to accept an offer of employment from the DNC, and if our Kitty Grabber in Chief jumps at the bait and tries matching a cigar-imbibing hand-puppet insult for insult he'll come across as an even bigger clown than he already is.
7
So, one sentence stood out to me. "Still, what we really need is someone who can respond to his childish insults with better and smarter ones. " My question to you is the same that I would ask Trump or the MSM, and that is WHY? Why does anyone need to respond? You call him childish, why not ignore the whole bunch? Why report it? Why comment on it? Everyone knows that if something doesnt feed the digital algorhythms it vanishes. No, I think 'everyone' is loving the hate. Feeding on it like rabid animals. It is sad to see that while Trump may be all that you say, so goes the way of the American people. What a shame.
I love your work, Mr. Bruni, but on this you're off base. Yes, Comey does lose dignity by getting down into the trenches with Trump.
But what is the alternative?
Maintaining a lofty silence?
As Edmund Burke said, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing".
Better to have Comey attempt to set the record straight--and suffer some embarrassment in doing so--than to do nothing.
107
Many people are missing the point. Comey was free to set the record straight; he didn’t have to resort to sensationalism to do so. I personally think gravitas would have been more effective. People should have had enough of reality-TV gutter-crawling by now.
James Comey spoke of leadership numerous times in the ABC interview. He sounded as if he was telling Americans to question the leadership of Donald Trump and never make the mistake again by voting for a person who has no idea of what constitutes a real leader. How else can he appeal to all the people, Trump voters and Hillary supporters? He had no good choice but to be credible yet keep Americans tuned in by using the petty diatribe over Trump's unusual nuances. Trump is a brand. That's all he is. Comey is taking on Trump and not just his brand. Tough task and I appreciate his attempt to wake us and shake us to our senses.
46
No, Mr. Bruni, no. Comey may have his faults, as all of us do. However, Comey is showing honor and courage in his efforts to the American people to the real Trump. In fact,Comey may be trying to save the nation from Gangster Trump.
57
Comey is being a provocateur, an interrogator, pushing Trump's buttons to trigger Trump's trademark worst traits. Being called a "slime ball" twice by Trump reveals how well Comey is playing him. Niceties are nice, but in the world of Trump - this wannabe Mussolini (without the assassination part) - ridicule and mockery are effective tools. I really wonder, Frank, if you truly grasp how dangerous Trump is. So far I say Comey, for all his confessed flaws and mistakes, is batting 1000.
49
With all due respect to the author, I believe that it is not fair to ignore the circumstances under which Mr. Comey was dismissed. In the FBI's history, there has been seldom an assault, let alone an assault from the President of the United States, to the extent that he was expected to "pledge personal loyalty" to POTUS! For Mr. Bruni to write lines lamenting the fact that a former FBI director is on TV granting interviews, I think it's important to remember how disgraciously Mr. Comey was dismissed and how much his reputation was slandered by Mr. Trump. To keep repeating the statement that it is somehow "unbecoming" of a former FBI director to defend his reputation against such a pugnacious, crass individual is to ignore the extraordinary circumstances that have led to this situation.
58
Mr. Bruni, I mostly agree. I cringed at the showboating and felt it quite apt the interview followed "American Idol." But I couldn't help thinking how Trump destroyed Mr. Comey's career and how, with all the dough Comey's likely to scoop up from this book and its tour, what a perfect payback that is.
17
Nice guys finish last, Leo Durocher said.
Taking the high road is a dead-end, a waste of time, in this outlying political climate. (And no one out-lies 45.)
You can't bore the American public into finally acting. HRC bored people into not voting; 45 set their blood afire. And who won?
We need to move the needle. If Comey had said, for instance, that 45 disappointed him because he's not a gentleman, that milquetoast mouthing would have gone in America's ear and out the other side at the speed of light.
When in Rome, you do need to act like the Romans, and sometimes you do need to fight fire with fire.
When Imperial Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, FDR and Congress did not send a formal letter of complaint and await a full apology. They began work on the Manhattan Project.
34
Then why live in America? If this is all anyone has to offer, or can hope to . . .
Y'mean, for the money?
Now you're in Trump territory.
I have absolutely no problem with Comey's vivid and colorful prose of Trump and others. He's a good writer and an honest man. I wish the quasi-pundits and moralists on my side of the aisle would stop parroting one another in an attempt to condemn Comey for Hilary's loss. This book is about immoral Trump.
33
Mr. Bruni "doth protest too much". In the end, the Mueller Investigation will provide copious amounts of diverse evidence establishing clear criminal conduct, across several separate counts, committed by Trump and his wayward associates. This evidence will be so compelling that whatever James Comey has written about in his book, discussed on a promotional tour, or stated in any other venue, will not jeopardize the case against the Fake President and his cabal to any degree whatsoever. Chill!
22
I empathize with your main point, Frank, that one must not fight fire with fire. But one fights bullies by standing up to them. I believe that is what Comey is doing in this book - defying him knowing Trump will come at him hard. The name calling (average size hands, orange colored face) is a way to get under his skin - a good pre-emptive strategy by Comey who has nothing more to lose. Trump can only seethe in rage and frustration with recourse only to Twitter.
27
Not at all so Mr. Bruni. Mr. Comey throughout the interview made observations that any highly observant cop would make. His descriptions were given in a dry, matter of fact tone, as a matter of descriptive observation for a criminal case.
The brute here is all Agent Orange.
34
Well I'm still glad Mr. Comey stepped up to be Trump's enemy number one for the next couple of weeks, because it prevents Trump from doing more damage elsewhere.
Everything Trump turns his hand to he destroys, like our international reputation, our environment, and so on. So while he's focused on Comey, we're safe from, say, nuclear war with Russia.
And unfortunately, the only way to get Trump's attention is to sink to more or less his level. Educated, careful prose is beyond his understanding, so it is better for people to call him fat and ugly, so that he notices and becomes enraged. Keeping Trump enraged at harmless targets is something we should try to do until he's out of office.
Lastly Comey's reputation may suffer from this, but I don't care. He did his part to destroy America and hand the election to Trump with that nonsensical email scandal he brought up, for no reason. Whatever he suffers, he deserves.
11
Comey is just a creature of this age. Why let your story be told by others when you can be media darling for a season and profit from the debacles you are involved in?
I think we have known for a long time that senior government officials do not always conduct themselves with dignity and have skeletons in their closets. Complicit media used to shield the public from the depths of their depravity until decades later. Now, the peoples' "right to know" has devolved into the publication of every sordid rumor and assignation that can be dug up or leaked out, while that official is still trying to conduct the business of government. Why does propriety and dignity apply only to public officials and not public communications? Society is not just coarsened by crass behavior, but by the media rewarding those who are willing to surrender what is left of their dignity to profit from providing every unsavory detail.
5
I for one am tired of everyone else being expected to go high, while Trump goes lower and lower. Why should those who Trump attacks remain silent, and not defend themselves? Trump needs to be exposed in every way possible.
35
You’re giving trump what he wants—an uncivil society.
I do not blame James Comey for telling his opinions about the President. It is refreshing to hear what he really thinks. There is so much accommodation for this President.
13
I'll take the whiff of convivial and honest humanity Comey includes in his recollections of his surreal time working in the Trump impact zone over our post-factual politics any day.
11
To those who say, you can't beat Trump at his own game- you have been right- so far. But taking the high road has not worked either. Comey has been the only high ranking govt. official who has seen and felt the dumpster fire up close and personal and has had the guts to speak up about it and take the hits to his legacy. He is being pilloried by many bloviators on both the left and right, but from reading the replies here, rank and file news consumers seem to appreciate it. The end will come for Trump, it won't be pretty and not soon enough, but the war's final body count will include Comey's among the early casualties and we will remember his honesty.
22
The low road is where trump lives. He’s entirely comfortable there, and that’s where he wants to take the country. Why help him in that endeavor?
2
In the eyes of Trump's supporters, "high" and "low" are of no importance.
The only thing that matters is size.
The biggest bully gets the most votes.
To take out Trump, one needs a Goliath. Trump is no David.
I do not agree. Thank God Comey wrote the book and gave an honest interview. I consider him Comey and Mueller heroes in a time when there are very few. I look up not down.
18
I thought that an FBI director would never be talking about what he did, what he spoke about and who or what he approved of after he left the bureau. Isn't a man in that position expected to be circumspect? His book tour is more like a teenage gossip session especially when he lowers himself while dissecting the physical features of the president. If he finds that such an abhorrent characteristic of Trump why engage in that type of behavior himself. He is not the moralist in chief after all.
3
So many complaints about those who openly criticize Trump is that they don't understand the feelings and beliefs of Trump's core supporters. Frank Bruni and others criticize Comey for appearing to play on Trump's grounds. Perhaps Comey appears to be doing that--but haven't we been instructed that trying to appeal to Trump cultists on long-established moral grounds and sound political beliefs won't work? If Comey comes across as being as morally hidebound as Trump [which any attentive person has every reason to believe is not the case], why not consider the possibility that Comey might know how to beat Trump at his own game without actually descending to Trump's ugly level?
9
Frank, if you thought that ABC interview was a Trump 'victory', I'd like to know where you store your stash (I mean leaves, not greenbacks). Mr. Comey is the first eye-witness, the best and most qualified, and he's the most credible figure you could ask for. Also, he wrote a memoir, an intimate account of his life, which is not a manifesto. You don't release a memoir when it's politically convenient, because a memoir never is.
14
Why are people insisting Comey be purged of all ego? We all do things that are in part driven by ego - the best in most professions are probably driven by multiple impulses - some sacrificial, some for pride of accomplishment. Why dissect Comey right now? Why pick apart his soul to try to find some misdemeanor? And by the way, I don't personally know of anyone who intended to vote for Clinton but changed their mind at the last minute and voted for Trump because of the email thing. And I know a lot of people who voted for him - practically my entire small town.
9
I disagree with the argument that Comey's discussion of Trump's personal appearance weakens Comey's credibility. Comey is a trained criminal investigator. He is trained to observe closely the person in front of him including physical traits. Comey would be trying to determine if Trump's "orangeness" and greasy hair was masking a disease and whether the small size of his hands (which came up during the election) could actually be a a reason for Trump's insecurities. I also disagree that Comey should not promote his book for the sake of the country. Why should we expect Comey, a man who was fired for trying to do what was right, and who now has no position in our governement to protect the country when we don't demand the same from our elected leaders?
20
If you see something, say something, the Department of Homeland Security exhorts, in order to keep our homeland safe. Comey for a time had a front row seat in the Trump administration. He has seen and heard much that was unseemly. It is proper for him to sound the alarm.
17
"He has seen and heard much that was unseemly".
What could be more ridiculous and unseemly than for a great hulking grandfather in his 72nd year to use fake tan, adopt a strange swirly comb-over and to dye his hair blond ?
Can you imagine your own father doing that, and your grandchildren being laughed at in school because of this silly,vain man?
Trump has made public fun of people's appearance and height on Twitter.
He deserves a taste of his own medecine.
Think about it Mr.Bruni .
Spot on, Mr. Bruni. Comey is damaging his own credibility and that of the FBI. I thought he was smart enough to delay releasing his book while the investigation is ongoing. At this moment Fox News is sliming the entire FBI because of Comey's publicity stunts.
2
Frank, your opinion is spot on!
Comey admits to following the polls and letting that influence his decision to announce a re-boot of the email investigation, polls, not the merits of the case. Shocking.
2
The capital fact that 500 former DOJ employees going back to the Kennedy Administration have signed a statement for legal protection of the Mueller investigation proves one big thing: this conflict involves Mr. Trump's war on the Department and the rule of law.
He started the war on his own constitutional duty to "see to it that the laws be faithfully executed." What more serious evidence do we need--does a Republican member of either chamber of Congress need--that we have a criminal in the White House? Under these conditions, isn't Mr. Comey one of the few truly prominent Americans to engage a vital war that the Criminal-in-Chief has started? He may not be a pure hero, but he's not a coward either. I say, "Thank God."
17
There was a time when a political candidate could strum a banjo & string together a few homilies on the stump & command the attention of the electorate. We've moved considerably away from that scenario these days; witness the Republican primary where competitors all but threatened to drop trou on stage in the quest for superiority.
Comey, a Republican, most probably believed what most of us did, that Hillary was a shoo-in, based on numerous polls & sought to close the gap in order to please the Bureau & lessen Party embarrassment. We all know the results of that miscalculation.
Yet, Trump may be the high water mark in the afore mentioned paradigm. We can only hope.
2
You don’t get it Mr Bruni.
Trump only understands this kind of language. He is getting his own medicine back. If everyone from Republican Primaries had used this language with Trump he would have never been elected. That time is gone of we go high when they go low. That does not work with Trump
10
I disagree. Comey is not putting himself on trump's level. It feels to me like I'm meeting with a friend I respect who is relating an unbelievable experience he's had with a truly deranged person while under the guise of normalcy. I love that he told of trump's hands. He's telling the whole story and not leaving any little-thing out.
11
I agree 100% and thank you for voicing it! This is only going to galvanize those on the right who think the world is tilted against them. It is also unseemly for a public official.
4
No, that is the only way you can combat
Trump, at his level. The republican debates proved that.
10
Like many who have left public service, Comey is capitalizing on his former career to make some real dough in retirement. Fine. But given that the Bureau he headed has been under attack for partisan, anti-Trump behavior and he might be soon called as a witness in judicial proceedings against Trump and his associates, might it not have been wiser for him to postpone his book and national tour for a while?
I was hoping to hear some sought of apology from Comey regarding the way he handled the Clinton email investigation but that didn't happen. His continuing justifications are either delusional or, more likely, a lapse of character. The one similarity he seems to share with Trump is his inability to admit to mistakes.
5
Bad read Bruni. Comey comes across to me as sincere, caring and disgusted. He is reminding the American people about the dangers of apathy. He is reminding our two political parties of the need to truly vet candidates for character and experience. He clearly expressed openly the valid concerns of the typical American citizen about honesty and character. The mode chosen by Comey is not the issue. What other choice did he have? The message is the issues addressed. We got the message loud and clear. Register, vote, take this matter out of the hands of our faltering politicians.
8
Bill Maher had a great observation. The Republicans and Conservatives fight with all their teeth and claws. The Democrats mode of defense is camouflage. Check it out on Youtube. Trump is allowed to call people slimeballs and lie left and right. But a dedicated public servant compiles a thoughtful, factual account and inserts just a few personal observations and we're suppose to pile on him for not sticking to the straight and narrow. I'm not suggesting Comey get down to Trump's level of character assassination (how many can?) but the guy is human. He can show a little emotion.
Trump did a routine in a recent speech contrasting himself with a "typical" politician who talks and behaves like a robot. Many commentators seem to think everyone besides Trump must be the robot. ( And, of course, many of these same criticize Hilary performance for being too rational).
No matter what Comey said and no matter how he acted Trump and the GOP would have found ways to ruthlessly attack him.
So Mr. Bruni, why not say "Thank heavens a respected, knowledgeable, experienced public servant shows signs life."?
And, BTW, Comey's distinction between Trump's physical/mental fitness and moral fitness was a crucial observation.
13
It’s so easy to “normalize” Trump, to ignore the noise, the tantrums, and the reckless conduct; kind of like a car alarm that goes off at all hours. After awhile, you don’t even hear it any more.
Comey’s book is a wakeup call. No, Trump isn’t normal. He’s dangerous. We can’t just close our eyes and wait until he goes away.
10
"If he can distract his Republican enablers and American voters with a crossfire of accusations and convince them that what they’re beholding has as much to do with the egos of the actors as with the egregiousness of his acts, he has inoculated himself against the judgment of Robert Mueller, and he shapes the movie that’s made of this."
I hope and believe that's a very big "If". This drama will be decided in a court of law also, not just in public opinion, so to say that Mueller can be neutralized puzzles me.
3
Enough with the pearl-clutching, Bruni. Comey is doing exactly what needs doing. Namely getting Trump so riled up that he is bound to make even more egregious errors than he would otherwise (and that is saying something). This isn't about taking the high- or low-road, but about getting inside the opponent's head. Look at how Trump is responding.
Mission Accomplished!
12
Comey is a politician who made a name for himself in high-level government jobs. Trump slimed and tried to shame him. He's entitled to strike back -- and make serious money while doing so. What political figure hasn't done so, or tried?
1
Frank (Mr Bruni),
So much wildly divergent feedback here opining on your column. Someday, this battle between Mr Comey and Trump will be studied in ethics, political science, philosophy and perhaps even law courses in high schools and colleges. And before long, history will I believe prove you right on your assertions on this matter.
1
Far, far from "showboating," Comey's behavior is heroic.
"Hero" is a word so overworked and simultaneously under-appreciated that we often fail to see a genuine example. Comey's indisputable courage manifest itself in his successful campaigns against organized crime. That same same clear-eyed courage is in play now as Comey does something not everyone in a community can do or is willing to do, and that is to take on a great evil for the benefit of that same community--which, in this case, is us. The American people.
Our country is in a truly frightening moral free fall. The damage being wrought isn't calculable because it is daily in all sectors of American (and global) life. Given the extraordinary gravity of the situation, with a President at odds with the core values of the very country he purports to lead, Comey's voice is not that of a showboater. To the contrary, he is one of the very few prominent public figures to take a lucid and meaningful stance on the nature of truth and ethics.
Showboating? Frank, your misinterpretation of Comey is evidence of how adrift we are. You are looking for moral failings in the face of moral constancy. In times of crisis, sadly, it is very often the prophet who is crucified.
9
Totally disagree. He was fair, honest, concerned, and credible.
12
I too was really upset by the way Comey's investigation swung the election to Trump. But, I have to say, I think Comey is an honorable and honest man. The way I read it, the book and interviews are actually difficult for Comey, and there are few recourses he has to set the record straight on Trump. It probably won't change the calculus on Trump, but when evil is succeeding a good man has to do something.
On a slightly different note, I see or hear very little about the Rudy Giuliani connection here. Remember how he said in October 2016 that really big news will be coming out? Giuliani was referring, of course, to the emails on Mrs. Weiner's laptop -- which were all duplicates of what the FBI had seen before, but in this case from the NYC bureau. False Alarm! How was Giuliani privy to that info? He's as crooked as his smile.
4
I completely disagree.
Tell me where politeness and civility and taking the higher ground have got Democrats and decent people so far? We have the most awful president ever, by a long margin. We HAD the most decent, mannered, cultured, ethical, reasonable president in the previous one. What good has that done us?
Every now and then we need someone on OUR side, the side of reason and decency, to "tell it the way it is". Then, perhaps, we just might reach those who need to hear the facts that way.
No. I heartily concur with Comey's sentiments and actions. He's only saying what we're all saying off record, anyway.
7
Thank you Mr. Bruni for focusing on something I too found troubling. Comey did come off a bit tawdry. I find myself making the same mistake when discussing DT. I can’t believe that one person (Trump) can drag so many people down to his level.
Unfortunately, disciplined people who take the high road seem to get knocked out. Look what happened to Hillary, Jeb, Romney, all the Republican presidential candidates, sexual assault victims, the handicapped, the list goes on and on. It astounds me.
I believe America is dealing with a world class tyrant at the helm. I can’t believe I am witnessing this. I thought about this type of thing happening in the past but could never imagine what chain of events would bring it about, “the perfect storm”.
I think we need to cut Comey some slack. He may not be without fault but he is one of the good guys. We need all the help we can get. Thank you Mr. Comey for taking the heat.
6
I'm sorry just don't agree with you. In the case of Trump you have to fight on his level and the dirtier the better. The problem with Hillary and any of Trump's other foes, they didn't fight dirty enough. restrained by good manners or just basic standards of decency -- Trump is bound by neither of these, so any normal person is at a disadvantage from the get go. Yes being tarred by the same brush is the risk, but I say go for it.
5
I'm watching Comey's full interview with USA Today on YouTube.
His responses are, word-for-word, exactly what he said to George Stephanopoulos. Part of this is surely because so much of the media shares one brain and ask the same questions over and over.
But his recollections are clearly rehearsed. I find it ironic that law enforcement agencies always raise red flags when witnesses repeat the same story identically, with no variation in word choice, tone, or expression.
2
The only reason comey wrote the book is because he was fired. He showed his hand during the campaign when he "reopened" his email case against Clinton to favor trump. And it worked. Had he stayed in the trump administration, I fully expected him to take a bullet for trump, a la oliver north, like any self respecting republican would. I am unimpressed by comey's and ryan's recent feint to the high road. They, and the entire republican party, are the party of trump. Did he say that he'd made a mistake? Did ryan? Their mendacity says everything you need to know about both of them.
3
I keep seeing pundits bringing up Comeys physical description of Trump as if it were somehow derogatory of the man. It is an accurate description! Comey did not call him fat, or smelly, or heavily covered in makeup. He observed the the mans hair, carefully coiffed, was his own. He described the man we have all seen many many times as having skin tone in the orange range, which I appreciate because i distrust internet and news photos, but do trust a trained investigator and observer to note accurately - it seems consistent with what I see, and others have noted. Ok, the man may use a tanning bed, and that is not an insult. His hand size was described as normal, not smaller than normal. He seemed to be shorter than his listed 6 ft 3, and for a man used to towering over people, Comey probably has a good gauge for height.
Comey was adding his impression of the man from personal observation, and none of what he said seems intended to diminish or ridicule the man. Why try to make it seem otherwise unless your bias is to discredit Comey? So transparent, Frank. You are better than that.
5
Comey is about Comey. He is the most political and politicizing FBI head since Hoover. He interfered in the election. Period. He just could not stay off stage. I can't pretend to know his motivations, but he obviously craves the spotlight. I agree with Bruni here. There's more than a little narcissism burning in that frame.
He and DT can mud wrestle all they want. I'm not watching.
2
Comey is a problematic figure, however you cut it. (And not the least of it are the ways -- whether deliberately or not -- that he skewed the 2016 election).
But I had far more respect for him before he came out with this book. His long silence preceding it was powerful. We knew he knew a lot... and, in contrast to our blabber-in-chief, Comey was admirably holding his lips closed + his cards close to his chest.
But his mistake in coming out with this book at this juncture go way beyond that. Besides the self-serving, lucrative deal, he played into Trump's hands in other ways. Without apparently adding much to what we already knew, he has now made it explicit that, as head of the FBI, he harbored profound disdain + lack of respect for the president. Whether or not Trump merits that is not the issue here. What's potentially more damaging and far reaching is that Comey has now smoothed the way for Trump to make a case that he had every reason to fire this disdainful FBI director... and (Lester Holt interview not withstanding) it wasn't to obstruct justice.
On top of that, I could imagine how this book -- and Comey's personal bias that it spells out -- could taint or undercut his valuable testimony in the Mueller investigation.
For a seemingly intelligent man, Comey has revealed disturbingly poor judgement at critical moments for our country. The ways he skewed the election still have not been properly explained or justified. And now this!
3
The only "case" that Trump could make for firing Comey, based in the latter's book, is that Comey did not and does not show personal fealty to Trump. That's not only a weak case, but one that reveals Trump as a dictator.
As for "undercutting Mueller's investigation," that is ridiculous. There is no such thing as an unbiased witness. Witnesses are called by prosecutor and defense precisely because they will aid one side or the other.
But there is no reason to suspect that If Mueller questions Comey he will receive less than honest answers, just as would be expected of any witness.
All witnesses may be biased, but the director of the FBI is not expected to perform his job with bias... and disdain for the president.
Democrats are so often polite and proper. That's why they (we) often lose. It's time to speak up and fight back.
6
I don't beleive Comey and Putin do not support Trump. After all, everyting these two have done so far, has helpd Trump. I would call this 'fake enemies".
Comey and Putin helped Trump win the election, this book and all thsi bad mouthing about Trump is to cover up any suspicions that falls on them. Comey, opened Clinton's case a week before the election day, come bias saying he did it because thought she would win anyway, write a book about Trump that if in the future he is called to testify, he would have been excused because the book 'shows' compromise his testimony. So, after all, his actions in fact has helped Trump, but for the public has to look like he is on the other side. To me, this is treason, and both should be charged for that!
1
The Trump phenomena is never going to go away until we get down and run it out of town. There’s a time to “go high” but this unfortunately just isn’t it. I’m a bit sorry Comey is in the mud (brought on in no small part by his own hubris) but I’m glad he’s taking up the battle instead of staying above the fray.
8
I expect the FBI to have impecable memory for faces and mannerisms. Comey’s description of the main character in his book was a key part of his training, which is how I read his intent.
15
If one reads between the lines, he is demonstrating to the country, on an unimportant but easy-to-digest topic, that he can clearly focus on and remember events in great detail.
6