On Saturday, former FBI director James Comey, speaking at Politicon, joked that if President Trump won reelection in 2020, Comey would pick up and move — to New Zealand.
As Newsweek reported, Comey was waxing eloquent regarding his dreams for America’s future. Moderator Nicolle Wallace of MSNBC queried Comey, “Talk about your life and what you want for this country and for the end of this presidency: do you want it to come sooner rather than later?”
Comey answered, “The change in this administration? Yeah. I’m optimistic but even if there isn’t an impeachment proceeding and a removal from office, whether or not that happens, the American people are going to pass judgment on what kind of country we want to be … We have strong disagreement on policy grounds and I hope there’s diversity on policy here. I don’t care what your views are. I hope you articulate them and defend them and listen and debate them. That’s important.”
Comey continued, “But we have something in common … We have a set of values at the core of this country that hold this place together. I tried to explain to kids something that most of you know. We shouldn’t exist. We don’t have the normal human glue that holds the country together; we don’t have common ancestry, common language common faith; we have nothing in common except a set of values. That’s the glue in the United States of America that holds Republicans. Democrats, and Independents together. And so I think that the American people are alert to the threat that is above our policy disagreements, which are important. Guns are incredibly important issues; immigration, abortion, taxes, really important; but above that is something that we have in common that’s non-negotiable. Our leaders must reflect the glue that holds us together. They can’t be people who lie all the time. They just can’t. And I hope people see that’s true whether they are Republicans or Democrats.”
Wallace pressed, “What if he wins again? Will you still believe that?”
Comey responded, “I will be — from my new home in New Zealand, but I still will believe in America.”
Wallace continued, “Explain it though; I take your point about our values, and I have lots of — I mean, when I worked on Republican campaigns, my closest friends were usually the people with my job, dealing with the same knuckleheads in the press from the other side on the other campaign. And we knew that we just worked for people with really different views about foreign policy and economic policy, but we knew we worked for people who wanted the same things for the country and believed in the same institutions. I think it’s fair to assert that Donald Trump doesn’t give a s*** about the institutions of the United States government. I think he would say that. So if he wins again, doesn’t it mean That people don’t share those values?”
Comey answered, “At least in part. He’s counting on winning again because he’s counting on provoking the Democrats to nominate someone who will lead the middle to stay home. That’s his path.”
.@Comey says he’s moving to New Zealand if Trump wins agin pic.twitter.com/CaDjTV3hSh
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) October 26, 2019