Former FBI Director James Comey had a mysterious welcome to social media when his secret Twitter account, under the pseudonym Reinhold Neibuhr, was exposed this past March by Gizomodo’s Ashley Feinberg.
Then, last month, Comey acknowledged the account was his, changed the handle to his own name and pledged that he would “try to tweet in useful ways.”
Whether he is succeeding is up for debate, but his few tweets have been consistently been three things: Relevant, cryptic, and viral.
Today’s tweet was no exception (below). In an era when Donald Trump has left a vacuum of leadership in the White House, Comey chose a quote on leadership from a president whose leadership was the stuff of legend before he ever sat behind the Oval Office’s Resolute Desk: Dwight D. Eisenhower. Relevant.
With a president who notoriously boasts not a shred of integrity, Comey choosing a quote about integrity, seems to be a pointed jab at Trump. And yet Comey declines to name names or explain himself. Cryptic.
Still, the tweet unquestionably resonated with people, surpassing 1,000 shares in just a few minutes. Viral.
Eisenhower tweets tend not to travel far more than half a century after the great general gave his farewell address. His leadership quote does not resonate because of how he led as president but because of how the current office holder has failed.
“The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.” Dwight D. Eisenhower
— James Comey (@Comey) November 17, 2017
