--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Trump fired Jim Comey because the most…" description: "\"Trump fired Jim Comey because the most dangerous thing in the world, if you are Donald Trump, is a person who tells the truth, is dogged, you can't con..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/632/benjamin-wittes-9097_committed_trump-fired-jim-comey-because-the-most-d_665654.jpg" --- # Trump fired Jim Comey because the most dangerous thing in… ![“Trump fired Jim Comey because the most dangerous thing in the world, if you are Donald Trump, is a person who tells the truth, is dogged, you can't control, and who is as committed as Comey is to the institutional independence of an organization that has the power to investigate you.” quote by Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/632/benjamin-wittes-9097_committed_trump-fired-jim-comey-because-the-most-d_665654.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/632/benjamin-wittes-9097_committed_trump-fired-jim-comey-because-the-most-d_665654.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/632/benjamin-wittes-9097_committed_trump-fired-jim-comey-because-the-most-d_665654.jpg) > “Trump fired Jim Comey because the most dangerous thing in the world, if you are Donald Trump, is a person who tells the truth, is dogged, you can't control, and who is as committed as Comey is to the institutional independence of an organization that has the power to investigate you.” [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Trump removed Comey to silence a truth‑telling, independent watchdog who could threaten his power. **In simple terms:** Trump fired Comey to stop a truth‑telling watchdog. Key Takeaway Beware of silencing independent oversight. Themes politics power truth accountability Mood cautious critical Type political commentary When to use this quote - government oversight - media scrutiny - legal investigations Key Concepts authoritarianism institutional independence whistleblowing Questions to Reflect On - How does removing watchdogs affect public trust? - What safeguards protect independent institutions? A Different Perspective Silencing truth can erode democratic norms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Independence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independence/) [Telling the truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-the-truth/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Donald Trump has fired a campaign adviser for posting racist remarks on Facebook. Isn't that shocking? Donald Trump has a campaign adviser.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-o-brien/donald-trump-has-fired-a-campaign-adviser-for-posting-racist-remarks/) [Conan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-o-brien/) > [I think that if the president Trump would have fired Comey when he first came in, he would not have to be in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-waters/i-think-that-if-the-president-trump-would-have-fired-comey-when-he/) [Maxine Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-waters/) > [The most important thing to me is that the president Donald Trump fired the FBI director James Comey all because of the Russia investigation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-schiff/the-most-important-thing-to-me-is-that-the-president-donald-trump/) [Adam Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-schiff/) > [A war of words escalated between the president-elect and a civil rights icon. Donald Trump fired back at democratic Congressman John Lewis after Lewis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-sharpton/a-war-of-words-escalated-between-the-president-elect-and-a-civil/) [Al Sharpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-sharpton/) > [I think it's saying really that Donald Trump was the one person in the room who got it right, who understood America and reflected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellyanne-conway/i-think-it-s-saying-really-that-donald-trump-was-the-one-person-in/) [Kellyanne Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellyanne-conway/) > [Donald Trump is a person who has been very cavalier, even casual about the use of nuclear weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/donald-trump-is-a-person-who-has-been-very-cavalier-even-casual-about/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Bob Mueller's entire history is as a tenacious prosecutor. And so he will follow the Russia investigation wherever it leads. But the good news…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-graff/bob-mueller-s-entire-history-is-as-a-tenacious-prosecutor-and-so-he/) Garrett Graff > [“But this sense of duty and virtue involved a complicated calculation about your positive effect on the White House versus its negative effect on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/but-this-sense-of-duty-and-virtue-involved-a-complicated-calculation/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [Trump's the only person that can possibly beat Hillary Clinton, and if you don't support that, then you own it. You're gonna be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/trump-s-the-only-person-that-can-possibly-beat-hillary-clinton-and-if/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [ Let me say this. \[Donald\] Trump is the only person that has control over what Trump does. Maybe his supporters support him but they… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-kirkman/let-me-say-this-donald-trump-is-the-only-person-that-has-control-over/) [Jen Kirkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-kirkman/) > [“It’s worse than you can imagine. An idiot surrounded by clowns. Trump won’t read anything—not one-page memos, not the brief policy papers; nothing. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/it-s-worse-than-you-can-imagine-an-idiot-surrounded-by-clowns-trump/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [ I think when you see \[Donald\] Trump in person, my reaction is you kind of enjoy it. It's kind of an enjoyable night out. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-think-when-you-see-donald-trump-in-person-my-reaction-is-you-kind/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [Donald Trump is a person who is an insecure money-grubber who cares about nothing but himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/donald-trump-is-a-person-who-is-an-insecure-money-grubber-who-cares/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [Every Donald Trump person that I've talked to - everyone from every walk of life - has said pretty much the same thing. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/every-donald-trump-person-that-i-ve-talked-to-everyone-from-every/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I came to the conclusion over time that Trump is not the person I feared he was in the beginning when I was against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/i-came-to-the-conclusion-over-time-that-trump-is-not-the-person-i/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) ## More by Benjamin Wittes > [Reasonable people can disagree about the authorities the NSA should have, when it's appropriate for the CIA to use drone strikes, and how assertive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/reasonable-people-can-disagree-about-the-authorities-the-nsa-should/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [I'm a rationalist and a skeptic, someone who safely separates faith from reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/i-m-a-rationalist-and-a-skeptic-someone-who-safely-separates-faith/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [I'm an unabashed apologist for strong national-security authority. That's why I might be more alarmed by Trump.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/i-m-an-unabashed-apologist-for-strong-national-security-authority/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [If you believe, as I do, that the scope and range of presidential authority is great, that puts a lot of weight on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/if-you-believe-as-i-do-that-the-scope-and-range-of-presidential/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [In any long string of letters, one can find countless anomalies that will seem like convincing proofs of hidden meaning to the mind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/in-any-long-string-of-letters-one-can-find-countless-anomalies-that/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [To get a FISA warrant to spy on a suspected spy, the feds go before a super-secret court located in a sealed room in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/to-get-a-fisa-warrant-to-spy-on-a-suspected-spy-the-feds-go-before-a/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [One effect of Roe was to mobilize a permanent constituency for criminalizing abortion - a constituency that has driven much of the southern realignment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/one-effect-of-roe-was-to-mobilize-a-permanent-constituency-for/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [There is no doubt in my mind that Article II limits to a considerable degree the application of the obstruction statutes to the president…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/there-is-no-doubt-in-my-mind-that-article-ii-limits-to-a-considerable/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [It might seem perverse for honestly religious people to group their faiths with those of the sadists and megalomaniacs who run most cults, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/it-might-seem-perverse-for-honestly-religious-people-to-group-their/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [Eric Holder is a decent man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/eric-holder-is-a-decent-man/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [Al-Qaida is a cult of martyrdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/al-qaida-is-a-cult-of-martyrdom/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [I generally favor permissive abortion laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/i-generally-favor-permissive-abortion-laws/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [While I oppose the death penalty as a policy matter, in a legal culture in which we reserve the right to execute people for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/while-i-oppose-the-death-penalty-as-a-policy-matter-in-a-legal/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [We should stop thinking of Snowden, to the extent that we ever were, as a hero. We should stop thinking of him as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/we-should-stop-thinking-of-snowden-to-the-extent-that-we-ever-were-as/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [It used to be that what was going to be written on my tombstone was 'Benjamin Wittes, former 'Washington Post' editorial writer,' or 'Benjamin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/it-used-to-be-that-what-was-going-to-be-written-on-my-tombstone-was/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) [Explore all 75 Benjamin Wittes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) ## More Committed quotes > [Once I committed to acting, this has been it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-hudson/once-i-committed-to-acting-this-has-been-it/) [Ernie Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-hudson/) > [I've been around in public life for a long time. I think people know what I stand for. They know that I have strong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-turnbull/i-ve-been-around-in-public-life-for-a-long-time-i-think-people-know/) [Malcolm Turnbull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-turnbull/) > [One lesson to learn is that the press and the broadcasters are not neutral. And it seems we have to learn it each time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-loach/one-lesson-to-learn-is-that-the-press-and-the-broadcasters-are-not/) [Ken Loach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-loach/) > [If you don't plan to live the Christian life totally committed to knowing your God and to walking in obedience to Him, then don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-arthur/if-you-don-t-plan-to-live-the-christian-life-totally-committed-to/) [Kay Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-arthur/) > [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [There is no breach of European rules committed by companies from Romania or on Romanian territory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-ponta/there-is-no-breach-of-european-rules-committed-by-companies-from/) [Victor Ponta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-ponta/) > [We all have that desire for something special, something committed. We all want to be The One.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashton-kutcher/we-all-have-that-desire-for-something-special-something-committed-we/) [Ashton Kutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashton-kutcher/) > [We must always refill and ensure there is a critical mass of leaders and activists committed to nonviolence and racial and economic justice who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/we-must-always-refill-and-ensure-there-is-a-critical-mass-of-leaders/) [Marian Wright Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-wright-edelman/) > [We have committed ourselves to pursue joint policies, but then national governments say, "We aren't bound by that." That is a dramatic situation, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/we-have-committed-ourselves-to-pursue-joint-policies-but-then/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [Sitting in your garden is a feat to be worked at with unflagging determination and single-mindedness. . . . I am deeply committed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mirabel-osler/sitting-in-your-garden-is-a-feat-to-be-worked-at-with-unflagging/) [Mirabel Osler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mirabel-osler/) > [You don't bargain with terrorists. You don't appease terrorists. And anybody who believes that this is about something we've done has to ask themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chertoff/you-don-t-bargain-with-terrorists-you-don-t-appease-terrorists-and/) [Michael Chertoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chertoff/) > [There is no secret formula--only a life committed to a close walk with God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dillon-burroughs/there-is-no-secret-formula-only-a-life-committed-to-a-close-walk-with/) [Dillon Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dillon-burroughs/) > [Poor human nature, what horrible crimes have been committed in thy name! All wars are wars among thieves who are too cowardly to fight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/poor-human-nature-what-horrible-crimes-have-been-committed-in-thy/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Dancing with death meant being committed to killing, committed with your heart and soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/dancing-with-death-meant-being-committed-to-killing-committed-with/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [I have sometimes thought that the laws ought not to punish those actions of evil which are committed when the senses are steeped in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-have-sometimes-thought-that-the-laws-ought-not-to-punish-those/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) Browse all 2,539 Committed quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Trump fired Jim Comey because the most dangerous thing in the world, if you are Donald Trump, is a person who tells the truth, is dogged, you can't control, and who is as committed as Comey is to the institutional independence of an organization that has the power to investigate you.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Benjamin Wittes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/trump-fired-jim-comey-because-the-most-dangerous-thing-in-the-world/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Committed" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/trump-fired-jim-comey-because-the-most-dangerous-thing-in-the-world/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/632/benjamin-wittes-9097_committed_trump-fired-jim-comey-because-the-most-d_665654.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/632/benjamin-wittes-9097_committed_trump-fired-jim-comey-because-the-most-d_665654.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/632/benjamin-wittes-9097_committed_trump-fired-jim-comey-because-the-most-d_665654.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Trump fired Jim Comey because the most dangerous thing in the world, if you are Donald Trump, is a person…” — Benjamin Wittes", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Benjamin Wittes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Trump fired Jim Comey because the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/trump-fired-jim-comey-because-the-most-dangerous-thing-in-the-world/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/trump-fired-jim-comey-because-the-most-dangerous-thing-in-the-world/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```