On Thursday after President Donald Trump gave an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt in which he trashed former FBI Director James Comey – calling Comey a “grandstander” and a “showboat” – the White House announced that Trump’s planned visit to FBI Headquarters has been canceled. MSNBC’s Peter Alexander was doing a live appearance from the White House when news came in on his phone that the president has canceled his visit, which he intended as a goodwill mission in the wake of dismissing Comey. “The FBI told the White House the optics would not be good,” Alexander said. “FBI officials apparently said the president was unlikely to be greeted warmly after having just unceremoniously fired a very popular director.”
“I was hoping it wouldn’t come to that, but what can I say – I can’t control everything,” President Trump told portal KnowMyRepublican.com. “I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but this is not something that’s appropriate for an agency as big and as important as the FBI. Honestly, if you ask me, they’re acting like babies right now. I did what was in my power, I acted as the president of the country, and they don’t seem to realize that I removed a man from position who would have done bad things for all of them. Essentially, I did a favor to the entire FBI and this is the thanks I get. But no matter, I know I’ve been doing a terrific job until now, super terrific. They can pout and act like little girls all they want, it’s not going to change anything.”
The president also said, “And you know something else? I’m willing to let this one slide, I’m fine, I won’t object. But the reason why I’m doing it is purely to demonstrate that I can be as democratic as the next guy. They want to feel like they still have a say about something, whatever it may be? Sure, that’s fine with me, they can feel whatever they want. However, they should know that I’m not running a charity here. I haven’t done that back when I was a businessman and I’m sure as hell not doing it now as president. I have a country to run, and for that to happen, everybody has to do their job right and there has to be a hierarchy, a food chain. I’m on top of that food chain and I give the orders, that’s what the people of America made sure I was able to do.”
“That being said, this is the only time something like this is going to fly. If they so much as think about rejecting a visit from the President of the United States again because they’re too busy pouting over their so-called director, I’m going to sign an executive order that’s going to shut down the entire FBI so hard they’ll be smoking all the way to retirement. In order for this country to work like it’s supposed to, everybody has to follow orders to the letter. That means no questioning them; simply obeying. At the end of the day, they should take a page from their agency’s book: Comey didn’t follow orders and look where it got him. They seriously need to wise up or the FBI is going to go down the drain for such disrespect,” the president concluded.
