U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman has no problem with ’86 47′ rhetoric

While the feds have again indicted former FBI Director James Comey for a questionable social media post indicating he favors eliminating the president, an Ohio congressman isn’t buying into the hype.

A gunman at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner this past weekend marked the third attempt on Trump’s life since July 2024.

In an interview with WDVM-TV/DC News Now following the attempt, U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman said he doesn’t believe Comey’s May 2025 Instagram post showing seashells arranged to read “86 47” is a threat to President Trump. However, he seized the opportunity to blast Trump, saying the president is using the power of the federal government to attack opponents.

“It’s seashells. It’s absurd,” Landsman told the station.

This week, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina returned an indictment charging Comey, 65, with two counts, alleging the former FBI director “knowingly and willfully made a threat to take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States.” It marks the second indictment of Comey for the post; the first was thrown out in late 2025.

In a post to X, Landsman, who has previously called Trump an “extremist,” acknowledged the potential assassin at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was “scary.” He also thanked the Secret Service, which is ironic considering Landsman has repeatedly voted against funding the Department of Homeland Security, which funds the Secret Service.

The exact meaning of “86” is open to some debate. While it’s commonly used in the restaurant industry to signal that an item, such as a dish, is no longer available, some equate “86” with the meaning “to kill.”

Landsman did not condemn Democrats’ continued rhetoric, which critics say has led to three assassination attempts on Trump’s life.

“The chaos of Trump continues,” Landsman said in a January 2023 statement after Trump himself was indicted on federal charges. “What he’s doing to this country – the extremism and danger he and his allies present – has to end.”

Landsman has faced a drumbeat of headlines about his record, including questions about his vote against funding the Department of Homeland Security and about his fundraising after revelations that he received an overwhelming majority of donations in the first fundraising quarter of 2026 from donors outside Ohio.

“Democrat Greg Landsman continues to use dangerous rhetoric against President Trump while refusing to condemn direct calls to assassinate the sitting President,” NRCC Spokesman Zach Bannon said in a statement. “Liberal Landsman continues to prove he is too extreme for Ohio.”