Fired FBI Director James Comey was reportedly so hellbent on avoiding Donald Trump that he once tried hiding in the White House curtains to avoid being noticed by the unhinged president.
According to The New York Times, in a January meeting Trump held for law enforcement officials, Comey initially didn’t want to attend, and once he was there he tried his best to steer clear of the president.
More from the Times:
One of those occurred at the White House on Jan. 22, just two days after Mr. Trump was sworn in. That day, Mr. Trump hosted a ceremony to honor law enforcement officials who had provided security for the inauguration.
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Mr. Wittes said that Mr. Comey told him that he initially did not want to go to the meeting because the F.B.I. director should not have too close a relationship with the White House. But Mr. Comey went because he wanted to represent the bureau.
The ceremony occurred in the Blue Room of the White House, where many senior law enforcement officials — including the Secret Service director — had gathered. Mr. Comey — who is 6 feet 8 inches tall and was wearing a dark blue suit that day – told Mr. Wittes that he tried to blend in with the blue curtains in the back of the room, in the hopes that Mr. Trump would not spot him and call him out.
Unfortunately for Comey, Trump did call him out in a big way, forcing the then-FBI director to walk all the way across the room just to shake his hands – and it was clearly an awkward moment for Comey, who we now know was being pestered at the time by Trump to be loyal and get rid of the Russia investigation.
Video of the moment:
According to The New York Times, once Comey was called on by Trump, he was determined not to allow the president pull him into a hug.
More from the report:
“Comey said that as he was walking across the room he was determined that there wasn’t going to be a hug,†Mr. Wittes said. “It was bad enough there was going to be a handshake. And Comey has long arms so Comey said he pre-emptively reached out for a handshake and grabbed the president’s hand. But Trump pulled him into an embrace and Comey didn’t reciprocate. If you look at the video, it’s one person shaking hands and another hugging.â€
Trump clearly wanted the Russia investigation to go away, and Comey was not budging to make that happen for the president. By Trump’s own admission, this was key to his decision to dismiss Comey earlier this month.
It’s also obvious that Trump repeatedly courted the FBI director – having him over for dinner, calling him on the phone, trying to pull him into an embrace, and asking him for loyalty – and was repeatedly turned down. If there is one thing that Trump has taught us, it’s that he has no patience for those who don’t love him as much as he loves himself.
So at the end of the day, James Comey was doomed with Donald Trump in the White House, no matter what curtains he tried hiding behind.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
