8647

In May 2025, the number 8647 gained attention due to a controversy involving former FBI Director James Comey and President Donald Trump. On May 15, 2025, Comey posted a photo on Instagram showing seashells arranged to form the number "8647." In US slang, "86" usually means to get rid of something, and "47" refers to Trump being the 47th president. A post that was interpreted by most people as cryptic and amusing, if somewhat juvenile, was interpreted by Trump and some of his supporters (the so-called "MAGA crowd") as a veiled threat. Critics alleged that, by combining these numbers, Comey was suggesting that Trump should be assassinated. Comey deleted the post, stating he was unaware of the connotation and that he opposes violence. Despite Comey's clarification, Trump and some of his supporters reacted hysterically and Comey was interviewed by the Secret Service.

Among Trump's opponents (the so-called "Woke crowd," there were suggestions that Comey was causing controversy in order to distract public attention from the President's political problems, after a shaky start to his presidency that some claim has seen Trump's popularity ratings fall to unprecedented levels. Although unlikely, given the state of the relationship between the two men, it would be in keeping with Comey's intervention in the 2016 election, which is thought to have played a significant part in Trump's victory.

8647 is an example of a numeronym, which is an abbreviation made up of just numbers or of letters and numbers. Numeronyms have been used since long before the digital era. Many of the early ones were written on the envelopes of letters between lovers. They were often a coded message between the sender and the recipient, thought to allow secret expressions of love or passion. They can be formed in various ways, such as: