Former FBI Director James Comey is trying to shake it off.
Comey revealed in a bizarre video Sunday that he has a new coping mechanism to deal with the bad blood he has with President Trump: listening to pop icon Taylor Swift and trying to follow her wisdom.
The self-styled “Swiftie,” explained that he’s struggled with the antics of Democrats like California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who punch back hard at Trump, and concluded that he likes Swift’s softer approach better.
“While our elderly makeup-covered president is posting about whether Taylor Swift is still hot and declaring that he can’t stand her, what’s she doing?” Comey reflected in a video on his Substack.
“Living her best life, producing great music and as she urged all of us to do during the podcast, not giving the jerks power over her mind,” he said, referring to Swift’s appearance on the “New Heights” podcast with the Kelce brothers.
“She said something about dealing with internet trolls that stuck with me — think of your energy as if it’s expensive.”
Earlier this month, Trump delcared that Swift is “no longer hot,” juxtaposing the singer with actress Sydney Sweeney, who has garnered acclaim from conservatives over her steamy American Eagle jeans commercials.
Swift had endorsed both former President Joe Biden in 2020 and former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election cycle. Trump declared last September that “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT” and claimed that his intervention tanked her popularity.
Comey bragged that “Taylor Swift and I go way back,” though it’s not clear the two have ever met in person or that she even knows who he is.
“I went to my first concert of hers 15 years ago,” he said. “And I have helped financially support the attendance of a lot of family members and others. I’m in a family Swiftie group chat. I know all her music.”
The former FBI director revealed that his favorite song by Swift is a tie between “All Too Well” and “Exile.”
“I struggle with how to stand up to bullies without letting their meanness infect me and change me,” Comey added. “You may have seen that the governor of California has been generating a lot of attention lately by posting on social media in a satirical way, where he mocks Donald Trump and his all-caps, megalomania and his absurdity.”
“I find it very funny, hilarious, even sometimes. But I gotta be honest, it also leaves me with a strange feeling at times, because I don’t want us to become like Trump and his followers,” he added. “There are far more decent, honest, kind people in America than there are mean jerks.”
Swift is famous for writing songs that appear pointed against some of the dramatic breakups she’s had with various men over the years, including songs like “Picture to Burn” and “Better Man.”
But Comey said Taylor taught him to show grace.
“At my second Taylor Swift concert in Hartford, Connecticut, 14 years ago this summer, she sang a song about this topic, asking why you got to be so mean,” Comey recounted. “She spoke directly to the nasty people, ‘I bet you got pushed around. Somebody made you cold, but the cycle ends right now.’”
“Nobody should have power over us. Thank you, Taylor Swift.”
Comey — whom Trump fired as FBI director in 2017, sparking a chain of events that led to the Mueller investigation — has long been as a fierce critic of the president.
Back in May, Comey caused an uproar and a Secret Service probe for an Instagram post in which he arranged seashells on the beach to read “8647.” The number “86” is often used as slang for getting rid of something. Trump is the 47th president.
Some critics interpreted that as a rallying cry to harm Trump. Comey denied that it was his intention and later deleted the post.
Last month, Comey’s daughter, Maurene, was fired from the Manhattan US Attorney’s Office by the Trump administration.
Comey is believed to be under investigation by the Justice Department.
