"I don't think I've ever seen a head of the FBI or former head of the FBI calling for killing a president," Sen. Ted Cruz (R–Texas) said during a recent appearance on Real Time With Bill Maher. As you may have surmised, Cruz was referring to the photograph at the center of federal charges against former FBI Director James Comey, which showed seashells arranged in the sand to form the numerical slogan "86 47"—a ubiquitous expression of opposition to President Donald Trump. When Comey posted that picture on Instagram in May 2025, federal prosecutors aver in pursuit of Trump's personal vendetta against a longtime nemesis, he was publicly threatening to assassinate the president.
"I don't know if that case will go anywhere or not," Cruz said before lending credence to Trump's risible interpretation of the seashells. "To '86' someone is not to get rid of them," Cruz told Maher. "It's to kill them." Maher vigorously contested that point, and for good reason. Although the number can refer to murder, that is by no means the most common usage of the term. Nor is that the only challenge that the government faces in trying to prove that Comey is guilty of the two felonies alleged in the indictment.
