Over the last 24 hours, the biggest story to dominate the news cycle has been regarding the abrupt firing of James Comey as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Critics of Donald Trump have been extremely vocal over the decision, which has led to the president firing back in a series of angry tweets.
Trump on Twitter
James Comey has been surrounded by controversy for the better part of the last year as both Republicans and Democrats have had their issues with him.
The first sign of trouble for Comey occurred at the end of the 2016 presidential election when he brought up the issue of Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server during her time as Secretary of State under former President Barack Obama. The issue had been investigated on several occasions, including by the FBI, who ended up clearing Clinton of any wrongdoing. When Comey brought up the email server scandal just weeks before Election Day, it opened up a freshly closed wound which only added further fuel to the fire for the talking points used by Donald Trump on the campaign trail. However, the tide has changed in recent months, as Comey has been the person in charge to help lead the investigation into what role Russia played in the election, as well as the Trump campaign.
On Tuesday. Trump surprised many by firing Comey, which resulted in Democrats speaking out against the president for terminating the man who is currently investigating him. In the hours since the news broke, the commander in chief has done his best to deflect away from the story, while attacking Democrats in the process. As seen on his Twitter account on May 10, Trump is shifting the focus onto the Democratic Party.
Taking to Twitter on Wednesday afternoon, Donald Trump continued to hit back at the Democrats, highlighting their alleged hypocrisy for opposing the firing of James Comey when they once had so strongly opposed him. "Dems have been complaining for months & months about Dir. Comey. Now that he has been fired they PRETEND to be aggrieved," Trump tweeted out, before adding, "Phony hypocrites!" The former host of "The Apprentice" appears to be doubling down on social media, tweeting his frustrations on the issue on multiple occasions, dating back to late Tuesday night, Wednesday morning, and now headed into the evening.
Moving forward
As Donald Trump continues to push back at the allegations that he fired James Comey because the former FBI director was investigating his campaign and those around him, the president is not making a convincing argument. Presidential Counsel Kellyanne Conway has appeared on CNN on two occasions since the story was made public, struggling in both interviews as the pressure mounts on the White House to explain Trump's decision, and his potential link back to the Kremlin.