In a different time—you know, like, a week ago—James Comey was still the FBI director and President Donald Trump was scheduled to have a sit-down with NBC News’ Lester Holt. Trump was set to boast about his health plan. And then Comey was fired and the White House was ablaze in rumors; press secretary Sean Spicer was literally hiding in a bushes or near them, depending on which story you’ve heard; and everyone assumed the Holt interview was going to be canceled. And then it wasn’t and Trump showed up and sat down, and a shit show ensued.
Trump called the ex-FBI director “a showboat” because of course the White House is a middle school cheerleading competition in which Steve “Big Poppa” Bannon assured Trump that he would be the lead!
Trump also revealed that he asked Comey if he, Trump, was under investigation, which seems like it would be a violation of some kind, and was told no.
“I actually asked him [if I was under investigation],” Trump said, NBC News reports. Trump added that he’d spoken with Comey over dinner and twice over the phone. “I said, ‘If it’s possible, would you let me know, am I under investigation?’ He said, ‘You are not under investigation.’”
“I know I’m not under investigation,” Trump said to Holt, adding that he fired the dude who was leading the investigation because that’s what boss’s do! When Holt tried to ask a follow up question, Trump yelled “Like a boss! Don’t ever come-y for me! Do you see what I did there?”.
Trump then started talking like a Mafia boss who just whacked Comey.
“He’s a showboat, he’s grandstander, the FBI has been in turmoil,” Trump said, according to NBC News. “You know that, I know that. Everybody knows that. You take a look at the FBI a year ago, it was in virtual turmoil, less than a year ago. It hasn’t recovered from that.”
Trump also added that he’d planned to fire Comey for some time but didn’t move on it until he received the recommendation from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
Trump claimed that he never tried to pressure Comey to chill with the Russia investigation, noting that he wants “to find out if there was a problem in the election having to do with Russia.”
When Holt asked if Comey’s canning was a message to “lay off” around the Russia stuff, Trump noted that it was not, adding, “If Russia did anything, I want to know that,” according to NBC News.
But Trump also insisted that there was no “collusion between me and my campaign and the Russians.”
“Also, the Russians did not affect the vote,” he said.
Watch the full interview on NBC Nightly News at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Read more at NBC News.