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Comedian Bill Maher took a humorous jab at the bizarre conspiracy theories surrounding the alleged gunman at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, suggesting he had been “activated” by former FBI Director James Comey’s enigmatic seashell message. During his HBO show, Real Time, Maher referenced President Donald Trump’s assertion that a “8647” seashell arrangement shared by Comey was a veiled threat to the president’s life.
Maher employed his trademark sarcasm, remarking, “Very serious stuff,” as he delved into the peculiar claim. He explained that the Justice Department was allegedly considering imprisoning Comey over the seashell post, which supposedly signaled “86 47.”
With a playful tone, Maher quipped, “He’s the Manchurian beachcomber. Eighty-six, you get it, 86, get rid of, 47. Ah! Yeah, they’re going a little crazy there in Washington.”
‘The Justice Department is trying to put former head of the FBI, James Comey, in jail for posting seashells,’ he added. ‘Why? Because the seashells spelled out, 86 47.’
‘He’s the Manchurian beachcomber. Eighty-six, you get it, 86, get rid of, 47. Ah! Yeah, they’re going a little crazy there in Washington.’
The term ’86’ is slang often used in restaurants to mean removing something, though it may also imply killing. Trump is the 47th president.
Comey surrendered earlier this week at a federal courthouse in the Eastern District of Virginia on federal charges involving threatening the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.
Trump went on to describe the bureau’s ex-boss as a ‘dirty cop, one of the worst,’ and reiterated his claim that ’86’ referred to plans to put him ‘eight miles out, six feet down.’
Bill Maher joked that the alleged gunman at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was ‘activated’ by former FBI Director James Comey’s seashells
In May 2025, Comey shared a post showing the numbers ’86 47′ written with seashells, which Trump claimed was a direct threat against his life
Comey surrendered at a federal courthouse in the Eastern District of Virginia on federal charges involving threatening the president
It came just days after 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen allegedly breached security in an attempt to assassinate Trump at the Washington Hilton last weekend.
In a 1,000-word letter sent minutes before he allegedly charged Secret Service agents at DC’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Allen allegedly said he intended to kill all of Trump’s top officials – except current FBI Director Kash Patel.
During his monologue, speaking about the highly educated tutor now potentially facing life in prison, Maher said: ‘He seemed like such a nice, normal guy, the last person you would ever expect to be trying to kill the president.’
‘Until he was activated by James Comey’s seashells,’ he then quipped, drawing a roar of laughter from the audience.
Comey posted the photo in May 2025 with the caption: ‘Cool shell formation on my beach walk.’ He deleted the post on the same day he published it and apologized.
In a Truth Social post shared Wednesday night, the president wrote: ‘”86″ is a mob term for “kill him,”‘ Trump said on Wednesday night. ‘They say 86 him! 86 47 means “kill President Trump.”‘
Meanwhile, Comey declared his innocence in a video posted to Substack: ‘I’m still innocent, I’m still not afraid and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary, so let’s go.’
His defense team is now planning to file motions accusing the Department of Justice of selectively and vindictively prosecuting him at Trump’s order – something Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has denied.
The president referred to Comey as a ‘dirty cop, one of the worst’
Comey’s defense team is planning to file motions accusing the DOJ of selectively and vindictively prosecuting him at Trump’s order. Trump and Comey are pictured in a 2018 file photo
It came after 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen allegedly breached security in an attempt to assassinate Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
As usual, Maher’s segment covered a range of current events, though the biggest topic was the chaos that unfolded in the nation’s capital as he broke his silence on the correspondents’ dinner shooting.
‘Another week where political violence has rid its ugly head again. We are officially now – I’m sure you saw what happened at the correspondents’ dinner – in the age of Gen Z assassins,’ the comedian said.
‘Did you see this one? Before he did it, he took a selfie. No, I’m not making that up,’ he added.
The selfie in question, released this week, showed Allen with a slight smirk and apparently armed with weapons just moments before he allegedly tried to charge the ritzy dinner with a shotgun.
Prosecutors said he took the mirror selfie in his hotel room at 8.03pm, dressed in evening attire and wearing a small leather bag containing ammunition, a shoulder holster, a sheathed knife, pliers and wire cutters.
‘His manifesto had jokes. Jokes,’ Maher told the audience. ‘And it was on recycled paper.’
In Allen’s manifesto, included in a criminal complaint obtained by the Daily Mail and filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ), he appeared to use humor, including criticizing the ‘incompetency’ of the event’s security.
‘PS: Ok now that all the sappy stuff is done, what the hell is the Secret Service doing?’ one sentence read.
Maher joked that we are ‘in the age of Gen Z assassins’ on his Friday night show
Maher spoke of the selfie released of the suspect, which showed Allen with a slight smirk and apparently armed with weapons before the attempted shooting
Maher said Allen (left) ‘seemed like such a nice, normal guy, the last person you would ever expect to be trying to kill the president’
Another said: ‘Like, this level of incompetence is insane, and I very sincerely hope it’s corrected by the time this country gets actually competent leadership again.’
He even signed off under the name ‘Cole “coldForce” “Friendly Federal Assassin” Allen.’
Maher continued: ‘We’re in a very different era. We know who this guy is now. At the time, what happened, nobody knew. No one knew, because they just knew a guy. He had a shotgun. He had 38. He had hunting knives.’
‘Either it was a far left activist heading out to kill, or a right winger heading out dinner,’ the host added, again earning applause from the crowd.
‘The good news is that no one at the banquet was hurt, really. As soon as it started, everyone went under the table, where a lot of the Trump administration was anyway.’
Maher also welcomed California Governor Gavin Newsom to the show, where he called out the politician for attempting to imitate Trump, leading to a somewhat tense exchange.
Newsom has made no secret of his ambitions to run for president in 2028, and part of his efforts to stir up publicity have included sharing Trump-ian insults on social media.
‘Many people would say that you are imitating him. Of all the people who may or may not be running, you’re the one who imitates his style with the trolling,’ Maher said.
Maher mocked Trump during the shooting, saying, ‘as soon as it started, everyone went under the table, where a lot of the Trump administration was anyway’
Maher quipped that an armed man is either ‘a far left activist heading out to kill, or a right winger heading out dinner’
Maher welcomed California Governor Gavin Newsom to the show, where he called out the politician for attempting to imitate Trump
He also pointed out that Newsom is now suing Fox News for libel. The governor responded by bragging about it, declaring: ‘Fox better look to settle right now or apologize for defamation.’
Alarmed, Maher fired back: ‘Okay, but that sounds exactly what he does! Suing media?’ Newsom replied, ‘Well then don’t defame, don’t lie,’ to which the comedian again said he sounded like the president.
He then attempted to explain his social media style by claiming that he merely wanted to meet the moment. The longtime liberal governor has an entire press office social media feed dedicated to mimicking Trump’s boisterous style.
‘To me that’s the biggest reflection of this moment, is how…the…just the sewer that we are now living in because of Donald Trump. And he’s allowed all of us to feel free to shove again,’ he said.