Trump on the Attack: Everyone 'Will Be Thanking Me' for Firing FBI Director Comey

U.S. President Donald Trump went on the offensive on Wednesday, a day after the sudden firing of James Comey as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

As controversy about the abrupt and unexpected move swirled around Washington, Trump took to Twitter, sharing his opinion that "James Comey will be replaced by someone who will do a far better job, bringing back the spirit and prestige of the FBI."

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Minutes later, the president tweeted again: "Comey lost the confidence of almost everyone in Washington, Republican and Democrat alike. When things calm down, they will be thanking me!"

On Tuesday, the White House announced that Trump fired Comey, who had recently been leading the agency's investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign and possible earlier collusion with Trump's campaign.

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Trump said the move resulted from Comey's handling of an election-year email scandal last year involving then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Democrats immediately accused Trump of acting out of political motives.

The FBI director had been embroiled in a controversy surrounding his probe into whether Clinton's use of a private email server while U.S. secretary of state during President Barack Obama's first term compromised national security.