Former FBI Director James Comey wouldn't say Thursday whether he'd prefer Hillary Clinton be president over Donald Trump, in spite of blasting Trump as unfit for office.
CNN host Jake Tapper noted Comey talks about how he loathes bullies in his new book A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership. Comey said his book tour wasn't about Trump, however, saying it was more about facilitating a conversation about ethics and leadership.
"It's not a book about Donald Trump, and I hope very much it'll be useful long into the future, beyond a Trump presidency," he said.
Tapper quoted Comey's pointed criticisms of Trump's presidency as a "forest fire" and Trump himself as "morally unfit" to be in the White House.
"Do you think the nation would be better off if Hillary Clinton had won?" Tapper asked.
"I can't answer that," Comey said. "That's something—that hypothetical is too hard for me to go back in time and try and answer."
"You paint a pretty dire picture of President Trump. It's hard to imagine how you don't think the nation would be better off if Hillary Clinton had won," Tapper said.
Comey said he didn't look at it in those terms, saying Trump was legitimately elected. The issue, he said, was Trump not adhering to the nation's values.
Tapper continued to press him, however, noting Comey had said Americans needed to respond to Trump in "the voting booth and vote their values."
"Presumably by voting against what he represents. Is that not a fair interpretation?" Tapper asked.
"I think of it in terms of voting for something else, which is the core values of this country, which are more important than any policy dispute, so I don't care whether people find that in a Republican or a Democrat or neither," Comey said.
Of course, Comey is in the unique position of being severely disliked by both major candidates in the 2016 election. Trump fired him and has called him a "slimeball," a liar, a leaker, and the worst FBI Director in its history, while Clinton has said his actions with her email investigation cost her the White House.