Comey warns Americans must not become 'numb to the fact that the truth is being assailed'

Former FBI Director James Comey compared President Trump to a "forest fire" that is going to do "tremendous damage," but he sees a silver lining.

"A forest fire gives healthy things a chance to grow that had no chance before that fire," he told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos in an interview that aired Sunday night. Comey spoke in-depth about how the forest fire that is Trump is changing the way people look at the presidency, and not for the better. "The foundation of this country is in jeopardy, when we stop measuring our leaders against the central value of the truth," he said. Trump, he added, "must embody respect and adhere to the values that are at the core of this country. The most important being truth. This president is not able to do that. He is morally unfit to be president."

When people lie, "the rule of law breaks down," Comey said. "And there once was a day when people were afraid of going to hell if they took an oath in the name of God and violated it. We've drifted away from that day." It's important to prevent people from becoming "numb to the fact that the truth is being assailed," he said, and "deciding that it's just too much to pay attention to because that's the path to losing truth as the central value in this country." Americans "need to stand up in the public square and in the voting booth and say: 'Look, we disagree about an awful lot. But we have in common something that matters enormously to this country. And our leaders must reflect those values.'"

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