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The numbers \u201c86 47,\u201d the controversial message that landed former FBI Director James Comey in legal trouble, were spotted over the weekend on a sculpture inside Texas\u2019 tent at the Great American State Fair, marking the latest complication for the Trump-backed event that has been mired with small crowds<\/a>, weather problems and controversial displays since kicking off last week.<\/p>\n A scale replica of Donald Trump proposed “Independence Arch” is on display at the Great American State Fair on Friday in Washington. (Photo by Andrew Leyden\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Getty ImagesKey Facts<\/p>\n The controversial numbers were seen written on a smaller version of Amarillo, Texas\u2019, graffiti-covered “Cadillac Ranch\u201d sculpture, which visitors were encouraged to cover with their own handwriting.<\/p>\n A photo taken of the sculpture showed the numbers on June 27, the third day the fair was open, though it is unclear who wrote them.<\/p>\n The numbers were \u201cimmediately covered,\u201d Andrew Mahaleris, a press secretary for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, told Forbes in a statement on Monday, adding the incident was \u201cunder investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n Although \u201c86\u201d is frequently used in the restaurant industry to mean \u201cremove\u201d an item or a customer, Trump and administration officials have repeatedly denounced the numbers as a call to assassinate the president.<\/p>\n The White House did not immediately return a request for comment from Forbes.<\/p>\n White “86 47” writing is seen on the left side of a replica of the Cadillac Ranch at the Texas exhibit on the third day of the “Great American State Fair” on the National Mall in Washington on Saturday. (Photo by Al Drago\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Getty ImagesCrucial Quote<\/p>\n \u201cThis installation was created to celebrate Texas culture, heritage, and our state\u2019s central role in the American story. We are disappointed that someone defaced it with disgusting anti-Trump political graffiti,\u201d Mahaleris told Forbes. \u201cThis kind of partisan attack has no place in an exhibit honoring Texas and America.\u201d<\/p>\n What Does \u201886 47\u2019 Mean?<\/p>\n \u201c86\u201d is a common bar and restaurant term that usually means \u201cto get rid of\u201d or “to throw out,” according to Merriam Webster<\/a>. Although it frequently is used to describe a menu item that is sold out, it can also refer to removing an unruly or intoxicated customer. Trump and members of the administration insist the phrase instead refers to a call to kill someone, with the president even claiming<\/a> he thought it was a \u201cmob term.\u201d Merriam Webster says this can be an extension of the original definition, although it does not include it due to \u201crelative recency and sparseness of use.\u201d<\/p>\n Key Background<\/p>\n In May 2025, Comey, the former FBI director who Trump fired months into his first term in office, posted an image on Instagram of shells on a beach arranged to form \u201c86 47.\u201d The former FBI director quickly apologized<\/a> for the post, insisting \u201cI didn\u2019t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence.\u201d However, Comey was quickly placed under investigation<\/a>, and later indicted<\/a> by a federal grand jury for threatening to harm the president. A federal judge dropped the case<\/a> later in the year, ruling the prosecutor leading the case wasn\u2019t legally appointed. Comey was indicted again<\/a> in April related to the post, and the case is set to go to trial<\/a> in October. Since the Comey affair, the numbers have been showing up more in protests against Trump\u2014most recently written in huge numerals on grass on the National Mall<\/a> earlier in June.<\/p>\n Further ReadingForbesTrump\u2019s Great American State Fair Faces Confederate Flag Controversy And Sparse CrowdsBy Antonio Peque\u00f1o IV<\/a>ForbesTrump\u2019s Hyped July 4 In DC Faces 100-Degree \u2018Extreme\u2019 HeatBy Zachary Folk<\/a>