Donald Trump’s former White House counselor Alina Habba was grilled on Wednesday about the president’s legal moves.
Things quickly became heated when The View co-host, Hostin, a former federal prosecutor, asked Habba about Trump’s DOJ indicting former FBI director James Comey on Wednesday for a 2025 Instagram post they allege was a threat against Trump, which showed seashells arranged as “86 47.”
“He is a former FBI director. He knows what 86 47 meant,” Habba told Hostin, “There’s no question about it.”
The number 86 is slang for tossing something out or getting rid of it. Critics of Comey’s post believe it implies that Trump, the 47th president, should be killed. The term is most often used in non-violent contexts, like when restaurants run out of dishes. Comey had captioned the now-deleted post, “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”
Asked Hostin, “What do you think ‘86’ means?”
Habba replied, “I think 86 means to kill the president, to get rid of the president,” which drew laughs from the studio audience.
Behar joked, “They use it in restaurants. Do they mean to kill the meat? What are they killing?”
“That’s what it means,” added Habba, “His words, not mine.”
Hostin shot back, “The dictionary disagrees with you on that.”
Still, Habba insisted, “This is an FBI director. We have responsibilities.”
On that note, Hostin pointed out a post of Trump’s. “The president also posted ‘Death to Democrats,’” she put to Habba. “Do you think the president should be held responsible for that?” The audience met the question with rousing applause, which Habba had to wait through before answering—at which point she claimed she “hadn’t seen” that post.
She was assured that it did “exist,” as Hostin waited for an answer.
“Here’s, directly, how I feel about this. Nobody should be inciting violence, period,” Habba said.
“Including the president?” asked Hostin. Habba declined to answer, replying, “But you have to remember something. The Department of Justice brings real cases. We are not Jack Smith. We are not Letitia James. We bring real cases against people.”
Hostin told her, “I do believe that this is a vindictive prosecution against Comey directed by the president, and so far with little success because he’s done this many times.”
She continued, “As Trump’s personal attorney, you actually were sanctioned nearly a million dollars for filing a frivolous civil lawsuit against Comey, against Hillary Clinton, and others, that a federal judge called ‘political grievances masquerading as legal claims.’”
“So why should anyone believe this pattern of targeting Trump’s enemies is about justice and not revenge?” Habba claimed she was “proud” to have been sanctioned by a “Hillary Clinton-appointed judge” for suing Hillary Clinton.
Later, Behar told Habba that her name has been “floated” for attorney general after Pam Bondi’s ouster. “Are you interested?” she asked.
Habba simply replied, “I serve at the pleasure of the president.”
