--- title: James Comey Fired: Trump Says Replacement Will Be 'Far Better' description: President Trump promised to replace ousted FBI Director James Comey with someone who will bring "back the spirit and prestige of the FBI" canonical: https://time.com/4773618/james-comey-fired-donald-trump-replacement/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-05-10T12:16:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-06-24T06:56:46.291Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump Vows James Comey's Replacement 'Will Do a Far Better Job' og:description: "When things calm down, they will be thanking me!" og:url: https://time.com/4773618/james-comey-fired-donald-trump-replacement/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc69e1c424245450c/6988ccb42dce012cce9ed6af/donald-trump-james-comey-tweets.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Trump Returns to the White House og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump Vows James Comey's Replacement 'Will Do a Far Better Job' twitter:description: "When things calm down, they will be thanking me!" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc69e1c424245450c/6988ccb42dce012cce9ed6af/donald-trump-james-comey-tweets.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Vows James Comey's Replacement 'Will Do a Far Better Job' ## Video: This Video Is No Longer Available [Watch (HLS stream): This Video Is No Longer Available](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fKodeUO6.m3u8) (0:10)  _Published 2026-06-23. "When things calm down, they will be thanking me!"_  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly May 10, 2017 12:16 PM UTC  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly May 10, 2017 12:16 PM UTC President Donald Trump on Wednesday defended his [firing of FBI Director James Comey](http://time.com/4773423/james-comey-fired-donald-trump-fbi-backfire/?xid=homepage) and promised to replace him with someone who will bring “back the spirit and prestige of the FBI.” “The Democrats have said some of the worst things about James Comey, including the fact that he should be fired, but now they play so sad!” Trump said in a tweet on Wednesday morning. “James Comey will be replaced by someone who will do a far better job, bringing back the spirit and prestige of the FBI.” “Comey lost the confidence of almost everyone in Washington, Republican and Democrat alike. When things calm down, they will be thanking me!” he added. Deputy Attorney General [Rod Rosenstein](http://time.com/4773246/james-comey-fired-justice-department-hillary-clinton-email-rod-rosenstein/) cited Comey’s handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server in recommending that Comey be removed from office. But the firing has been criticized by members of [both parties](http://time.com/4773409/james-comey-donald-trump-congress-chuck-schumer/?xid=homepage), and Democrats are [questioning the timing](http://time.com/4773321/james-comey-fired-hillary-clinton-robby-mook-john-podesta/), after Trump chose to retain Comey and praised him on multiple occasions. 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