This is how the Trump administration ends

Not with an attempted coup d'état, but with an endless series of shootings in the foot

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: EPA/JIM LO SCALZO)

President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday. The president claims he did so because of how Comey mishandled the probe into Hillary Clinton's emails last fall — which is simply laughable. But Politico's Josh Dawsey already seems to have the real reason from history's leakiest White House: sheer anger.

Trump was reportedly angry at Comey — angry that Comey had the limelight, angry that Comey wouldn't defend him publicly in the FBI's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, just angry, period. The firing has all the signs of shooting from the hip: no replacement, no slate of qualified nominees to replace him. Trump had previously said he wouldn't fire Comey. It was just an announcement.

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Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry

Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry is a writer and fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. His writing has appeared at Forbes, The Atlantic, First Things, Commentary Magazine, The Daily Beast, The Federalist, Quartz, and other places. He lives in Paris with his beloved wife and daughter.