Trump had nothing but praise for the now-former FBI Director when the focus of the agency’s investigation was Hillary Clinton’s emails

Trump: “Well, I hear fantastic — I don't know [Comey]. I hear fantastic things, beyond fantastic…I can say that I hope he is straight up. I think if he is straight up that she is not going to be able to run.” [O’Reilly Factor, Fox News, 4/28/16]

Trump: “I do have confidence in [Comey]. I don't know him.” [Situation Room, CNN, 5/4/16]

Trump: “I've always had great confidence in the FBI, I must tell you. I have great respect. I know some FBI folks. I've always had great confidence in them.” [Trump Campaign Rally, San Jose CA, 6/2/16]

Trump: “I have great respect for the fact that the FBI and the Department of Justice are now willing to have the courage to right the horrible mistake that they made.” [Trump Campaign Rally, Manchester NH, 10/28/16]

Trump: “The FBI, I think they’re going to right the ship, folks. I think they’re going to right the ship, and they’re going to save their great reputation by doing so.” [Trump Campaign Rally, Manchester NH, 10/28/16]

Trump: “I have great respect for the FBI for righting this wrong. The American people fully understand her corruption and we hope all justice will finally be served. This is the biggest political scandal since Watergate and I'm sure that it will be properly handled from this point forward.” [Trump Rally, Lisbon ME, 10/28/16]

Trump: “I respect the fact that Director Comey was able to come back after what he did. I respect that very much.” [Trump Campaign Rally, Phoenix AZ, 10/29/16]

Trump: “It took guts for Director Comey to make the move that he made in light of the kind of opposition he had with their trying to protect her from criminal prosecution. You know that. It took a lot of guts. I really disagreed with him. I was not his fan, but I’ll tell you what, what he did? He brought back his reputation. He brought it back. He’s got to hang tough, because there’s a lot of people want him to do the wrong thing. What he did was the right thing.” [Trump Campaign Rally, Grand Rapids MI, 10/31/16]

Trump: “I have great respect for the fact that the FBI and the DOJ are now willing to have the courage to right the horrible mistake that they made.” [Statement, Donald J. Trump For President, 10/28/16]

Trump’s advisors previously emphasized Trump’s trust in Comey and the administration’s plans to retain him

Kellyanne Conway: “We certainly didn't, you know, criticize [Comey] and persecute him the way others did, which I think is quite remarkable because now they're saying we knew that he wouldn't change his conclusion.” [MSNBC Live, MSNBC, 11/6/16]

Reince Priebus: Trump “has confidence in Director Comey. We have had a great relationship with him over the last several weeks. He’s extremely competent. But, look, his term extends for some time yet. There’s no plans at the moment in changing that term. And we’ve enjoyed our relationship with him and find him to be extraordinarily competent.” [This Week, ABC, 1/15/17]

Their warm relationship continued when Trump entered the White House, with Trump even referring to Comey as one of his own appointees

Trump: “As you know, Mike Pompeo has — has now taken control of the CIA, James Comey at FBI, Dan Coats is waiting to be approved, I mean he is a senator and a highly respected one and he’s still waiting to be approved. But our new people are going in.” [Trump News Conference, Washington DC, 2/16/17]

Trump: Comey has “become more famous than me.”

ABC News: “FBI Director James Comey has told top FBI officials that President Donald Trump asked him to stay on as head of the bureau.”

New York Times: In January 2017, “Mr. Trump told the F.B.I. director that he hoped he would remain in his position.”

Just 7 days ago, Sean Spicer reaffirmed Trump’s faith in Comey

Sean Spicer: “The President has confidence in the director.  But I think, clearly, his point was after some of the comments that were made yesterday regarding the reason for the outcome of the election, I think he just wanted to make it clear what exactly happened.” [White House Daily Briefing, 5/3/17]

Sean Spicer: “The president has confidence in the [FBI] director” despite Trump’s accusation that Comey gave Hillary Clinton a “free pass.” [White House Daily Briefing, 5/3/17]