Former FBI Director James Comey said Thursday that President Donald Trump seems markedly different from his first term, describing the president as more erratic and self-absorbed than in 2017.
"I mean, I've always thought Donald Trump was a little bit off, but whoa, compared to even to six years ago, something's off," Comey told CNN's Kasie Hunt in an interview.
Comey, who has not spoken to Trump since being fired in 2017, recalled that during the early years of the administration, the president appeared more focused on a broader range of issues. "He seemed by Trumpian standards, more serious, more even-keeled," Comey said. "Less focused entirely on himself and his projects and his obsessions, the people he wants to get, the things he wants to build."
The former FBI chief added, "All of that seems to me a little bit off, and I don't remember feeling that in 2017."
Trump turns 80 in June, and questions about his mental sharpness have intensified amid a series of extreme threats against Iran and instances where he has appeared to doze off during meetings. A recent Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll found that more than half of Americans believe Trump lacks the mental acuity needed to lead the country. Senior administration officials have dismissed those concerns, insisting the president remains sharp. Trump has boasted of acing three cognitive tests while in office.
Comey argued the country has grown "numb" to what he called a "tidal wave of nuttiness," pointing to Trump's late-night social media posts and AI-generated images. "The president wakes up at, I don't know, two o'clock in the morning, tweeting crazy — not tweeting, but truthing, whatever they call it — craziness, and we all kind of shrug and go to work and go on to look at other things," he said.
Comey has been a frequent target of Trump's. The Justice Department has pursued charges against him twice since January 2023. An indictment last September for alleged false statements and obstruction was dismissed after a judge ruled the prosecutor who secured the charges was unlawfully appointed. A federal grand jury indicted Comey again last month for allegedly threatening Trump's life over a since-deleted social media post of seashells arranged to read "86 47" — a reference to a restaurant term for removing an item from the menu.
Despite the legal pressure, Comey said he will not hold back from criticizing the president. "I've been targeted by the president repeatedly, obsessively," he said. "It's really important that we not become numb to this, and that people who have something to add in the public forum about things like the rule of law, not be intimidated and be silent."
The former FBI director's comments come as Trump's administration faces scrutiny on multiple fronts. D.C. Circuit judges recently grilled the administration over executive orders targeting law firms, and efforts to maintain an independent Justice Department face an uphill battle. Meanwhile, Trump's claim that China's Xi Jinping pledged no arms to Iran has been met with Chinese denials.
"I won't talk about a case that's pending, but I will not stop talking about the threats that this administration poses to the rule of law," Comey added.
