Trump calls Comey a ‘showboat,’ says he decided on his own to fire him

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday offered a new version of his decision to fire James B. Comey, the FBI director, saying he would have dismissed him regardless of whether the attorney general and his deputy recommended it.

In his first extended comments on a move that has roiled Washington, Trump castigated Comey, calling him “a showboat” and “a grandstander” who had created turmoil at the bureau. But the president’s description of his decision-making process conflicted with the account provided previously by his aides.

The White House previously said that Trump acted only after Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod S. Rosenstein came to him and recommended that Comey be dismissed.

In the letter dismissing Comey that Trump signed, it said he was acting on their recommendation. But in an interview with NBC News on Thursday, Trump said, “I was going to fire regardless of recommendation.”