WASHINGTON, D.C. May 10 (DPI) – Donald Trump clumsily fired FBI Director James Comey yesterday, triggering almost unprecedented volume on comment boards today – more than 6,000 moderated posts attached on NYTimes.com’s main story, and more than 20,000 on the Washington Post’s, which is filtered only for swear words and hate speech.

Everyday readers saw the stunning move for what it was: A bald show of power by the new president to intimidate opponents and quell any effort to investigate him, on Russia or anything else.

Among the most popular comments: “The elimination of Comey’s employment is a grave warning about Trump’s ability to abuse the White House.”

Quick takeaways from Trump’s firing of Comey:

1. Almost everyone saw through the stated pretext that Trump chose to fire Comey over his handling of the Clinton email investigation. Only hours after Comey’s firing it was disclosed that Comey had asked from more resources from the Department of Justice to investigate Russia’s alleged interference in the US presidential election.
2. Jeff Sessions, who supported the move, is completely exposed as a partisan hack, which threatens the integrity of the Department of Justice. Trump, who demands loyalty but curiously shows little, may not let Sessions survive long as Attorney General.
3.  It’s another act that proves Trump has no refined political skills or touch – such a sledgehammer move, at such a delicate time, will likely hurt him politically rather than consolidate his power or help his agenda, whatever it turns out to be.
4. Comey’s career is hardly over – in fact, being fired by the petulant president will likely serve as a merit badge, which will enhance future political influence and stature.

Nearly all comments on NYTimes.com excoriated the president – and the Republican Party – for what one called a “slow motion coup d’etat”:

(Nearly 8,000 recommended clicks on the comment below):

Conservatives have been conducting a slow motion “coup d’etat” over the past 30 years. Gerrymandering. Voter suppression. Judicial manipulation. Propaganda programs to misinform and confuse large swaths of the voting public. The removal of Comey in the midst of of crucial investigation of the President and his enablers is one more step towards the inevitable: the perversion and ultimate destruction of democracy in the US leading to permanent conservative control of the country. This will not end well.

Also most popular:

So he can elect another person who can “investigate” him and find nothing? At least Nixon was a little subtler in his deception. It feels as though they are hardly even attempting to mask their duplicity at this point.

For those of us who resented Comey’s indefensible double standard in speaking of the candidates’ respective ongoing investigations, there is no lost love for Comey. It almost feels like poetic justice.
Still, this is chilling. Comey had power which kept Trump’s in check. The elimination of Comey’s employment is a grave warning about Trump’s ability to abuse the White House.