Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is apparently unfazed by Americans popularizing the slang term President Trump has claimed is an unequivocal “mob” call to kill him.
Blanche, 51, appeared on Meet the Press Sunday and spoke about the second indictment against James Comey, which came after the former FBI director posted a photo of seashells spelling out ‘86 47′ on May 15 last year.
Host Kristen Welker questioned Blanche on the rationale behind the term being interpreted as a threat against the president. “It is worth noting that on Amazon.com—we looked this up—there are dozens of products with the same terminology. We’re showing it right here, ‘86 47′ being sold and purchased right now," she said.
“Should individuals selling and buying ‘86 47’ merchandise be concerned that they’re going to be prosecuted by the DOJ?” she asked Blanche.
“This isn’t about a single incident, this isn’t—I mean, of course not," Blanche said.
“That’s posted constantly, that phrase is used constantly. There are constantly men and women who choose to make threatening statements against President Trump. Every one of those statements do not result in indictments, of course.”
Indicating that interacting with ‘86 47’ wasn’t enough to be construed as a threat, the attorney added: “There are facts, there are circumstances, there are investigations that have to take place.
“And we have charged dozens and dozens of men and women this year of threatening President Trump and others, so this isn’t a new charge we’re bringing,” he said.
Asked by Welker if he was “suggesting the seashells themselves are not at the root of this indictment” amid bewilderment over the case from within the GOP, Blanche became more cryptic.
“I am suggesting that every single case depends on the investigation that’s done. And of course, the sea shells are part of that case, I mean that’s what the public sees,” he said.
“But without a doubt, and it should be evident by the fact that it’s been 11 months since the posting and the indictment, there is an investigation that takes place, and that’s the result—the result of that investigation is the indictment that was returned last week.”
Comey removed his sea shell photo the same day it was posted last year, writing on Instagram: “I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message. I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”
The number ‘47′ in this context has been assumed by many to refer to Trump, the 47th president. Meanwhile, ‘86′ is a term often used in hospitality settings as a shorthand for throwing something out.
In Trump’s Truth Social post earlier this week, he made it clear that he saw the shorthand as nothing less than a call for his head.
“‘86’ is a mob term for ‘kill him.’ They say 86 him! 86 47 means ‘kill President Trump,’” he wrote. “James Comey, who is a Dirty Cop, one of the worst, knows this full well! EIGHT MILES OUT, SIX FEET DOWN! Didn’t he also lie to the FBI about this??? I think so!”
