Former FBI Director James Comey privately called President Trump "crazy" and "outside the realm of normal" for his March accusation that President Obama wiretapped him, according to a report.
In an article outlying the growing tensions that led to Comey's surprising dismissal by Trump on Tuesday, the New York Times called the firing a "long time coming."
According to the report, Trump grew frustrated with Comey over his public dismissal of the wiretapping claim and continued investigation of alleged collusion between Russia and the Trump presidential campaign:
For his part, Mr. Trump fumed when Mr. Comey publicly dismissed the sensational wiretapping claim. In the weeks that followed, he grew angrier and began talking about firing Mr. Comey. After stewing last weekend while watching Sunday talk shows at his New Jersey golf resort, Mr. Trump decided it was time. There was "something wrong with" Mr. Comey, he told aides.
The collision between president and FBI director that culminated with Mr. Comey's stunning dismissal on Tuesday had been a long time coming. To a president obsessed with loyalty, Mr. Comey was a rogue operator who could not be trusted as the FBI investigated Russian ties to Mr. Trump's campaign. To a lawman obsessed with independence, Mr. Trump was the ultimate loose cannon, making irresponsible claims on Twitter and jeopardizing the bureau's credibility.
The White House, in a series of shifting and contradictory accounts, first said Mr. Trump decided to fire Mr. Comey because the attorney general and his deputy recommended it. By Wednesday, it had amended the timeline to say that the president had actually been thinking about getting rid of the F.B.I. director as far back as November, after he won the election, and then became "strongly inclined" after Mr. Comey testified before Congress last week.
The Times writes Trump was particularly vexed by Comey's congressional testimony last week about Russia's 2016 election meddling and the Hillary Clinton email investigation. He took particular exception to Comey's line about being "mildly nauseous" that he had swayed the election in any way, referring to his late-October letter to Congress about the Clinton email probe.
The White House has reportedly been surprised by the backlash to Comey's firing, believing that Democrats upset over Comey's role in the election would be glad to see him go. Democrats expressed outrage at Comey's termination, however, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) has called for a special prosecutor.