Trump keeps getting attacked by ‘our side’ for screwing up the firing of Comey - not the firing itself, but how Comey was fired.
Has ANYONE come up with a ‘better way’ for Trump to have fired Comey? All I can see he is the following:
1) He gave Comey a chance to be a good boy (months in office)...but the leaks never stopped.
2) He had a report assembled explaining why Comeny deserved to be fired - there is no requirement for that, but he did so anyway.
3) He waited until Comey twisted himself in a pretzel in public, in front of Congress.
I guess Trump could have fired Comey in his first day in office - but does ANYONE think the goons would have quieter in that case?
“not the firing itself, but how Comey was fired.”
I’m not sure why Trump didn’t use a nicer manner to fire Comey. Two possibilities come to mind: he had confirmation that Comey was a leaker, or he had confirmation that Comey lied to him, or both.
Well, yes. Comey should have been called into the White House, should have been given the president's reasons, and should have been asked to resign gracefully. Peremptorily firing someone when he is on the other side of the country is crummy. If you treat a subordinate that way, you will demoralize the rest of the staff. If you treat a bigfoot player that way -- such as, say, an FBI Director in the middle of very sensitive "stuff" (a technical term) -- you invite blowback.
Comey should have been replaced long ago. It should have been done calmly, after a senior level review of the assorted controversies into which the FBI has been drawn, with a reasoned statement that the politics have gotten so polarized that a fresh start is in order.
But no. The firing was done in the crudest possible way, just another grenade lobbed into an already chaotic scene. I expect that Republican Members of Congress are getting tired of going into the office each morning wondering what they are going to get blindsided with today. I expect Trump's cabinet members are feeling the same way.
It's been one unforced error after another, with everyone playing damage control. And it doesn't look like it's going to change.
All things considered, I think this was pretty gentle. Heck, I've seen Trump fire people right on TV -- totally blind-siding them. Just looking them right in the eye, jabbing his hand out and saying, "You're Fired!". So, really, Comey got off easy.