If you’re going to scold your party about taking an ideological turn that displeases you, maybe wait more than four seconds after joining it to do so, no?

Democrats, please, please don’t lose your minds and rush to the socialist left. This president and his Republican Party are counting on you to do exactly that. America’s great middle wants sensible, balanced, ethical leadership.

— James Comey (@Comey) July 22, 2018

We all realize where this is going. The dramatic season-four cliffhanger to “The Apprentice: White House” will be Comey grudgingly endorsing Trump for reelection because the Democrats are all pinkos now.

And then the dramatic season-five premiere will be Trump reappointing him FBI director to say thanks.

Democrats are treating his advice roughly the way Trumpers would treat political tips from Bob Mueller:

Hey Jim, we got this covered. No one is asking for your advice. As we saw during the campaign, your judgment isn’t great! All the best, everyone.

— Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) July 22, 2018

I think he misunderstands his relationship to Democrats, which admittedly would be easy to do given the topsy-turvy year he’s just had. For the past 14 months he’s been Trump’s public enemy number one; virtually every utterance he’s made since being fired has been critical of POTUS, and the memos he created of his chats with him may end up being important evidence supporting a charge of obstruction of justice. All of that was powerfully attractive to Trump-loathing Democrats, who made Comey’s book a bestseller and who even now tend to receive him well in his public appearances. Comey, taking all of that in, must assume that he’s made a bunch of new friends.

But as the book tour fades and his utility to the left diminishes, the friendliness is destined to fade too. He is, after all, forever the man who sent The Letter 10 days before Election Day 2016. He’ll never be completely forgiven for it by Dems. If they’re going to tolerate him, it can only happen if he approaches them in a spirit of perpetual repentance. Dumping on Trump 24/7 is true to that spirit. Telling them how to run their party, even as a matter of pure electoral strategy, isn’t. If he wants to join this tribe after what he’s done, he has to accept that he’ll never have a say in its direction.

Here’s Trey Gowdy marveling at the continuing efforts of Comey and John Brennan to make Americans doubt the political neutrality of U.S. intelligence.