This Thursday promises to be a feisty day for the Washington D.C. political calendar, as former FBI head James Comey testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee about his interactions with President Donald Trump, and, specifically, whether Trump pressured him to end investigations into possible ties between the current administration and Russia. D.C. bars are opening early to give people a place to watch the hearing, while online pundits are already working up their best, angriest commentary about the outcome of the session. Among those stalwart internet warriors: President Donald Trump.
That’s per Washington Post reporter Robert Costa, who noted on MSNBC today that Trump is likely to live-tweet Comey’s hearing, giving it the same dose of measured consideration that a drunk blogger might give to a viewing of Speed or Point Break on a lonely Saturday night. Costa says White House staffers have told him that Trump has largely forgone planning and strategizing around Comey’s testimony, planning to just warm up his tiny thumbs and take to his phone instead.
That’s in line with Trump’s previous frustrations with his own press team, who just don’t seem capable of projecting the same “Fuck you, I’m great” cult leader bluster that somehow landed Trump the presidency. Instead, according to Costa, Trump intends to be “the messenger, his own warrior, his own lawyer, his own spokesman,” blasting back at critics and calls for impeachment with a tactically considered blend of insults, misspellings, and all-caps internet braggadocio.