President Donald Trump has been privately venting his anger over FBI Director Kash Patel’s embarrassing boozy Olympics antics, according to a new report.
The president, 79, is said to be fuming about the parade of bad headlines triggered by viral footage of his hockey-mad FBI chief celebrating Team USA’s gold medal win over Canada in Milan by slamming beers in the men’s locker room.
While Trump has publicly defended Patel, 46, behind the scenes, he has been griping to confidants about both the locker-room performance itself and the embarrassing coverage that followed, sources familiar with the conversations told CNN.
The Daily Beast had previously reported that the president had also raised the controversy with Patel directly.
Patel had skipped the official U.S. delegation in Milan—which included Vice President JD Vance, 41—and flew out on his own, only landing after Vance and his entourage had left town.
After the gold medal triumph, Team USA general manager Bill Guerin—who also runs the NHL’s Minnesota Wild and is reportedly friendly with the FBI director—waved Patel into the locker room celebrations.
The FBI director then called Trump on speakerphone, drawing laughter from players when the president joked he would “have” to invite the women’s hockey gold medalists to the White House, too, or he would face impeachment. Several players later apologized for the awkward exchange, CNN noted.
The Olympics meltdown is just one chapter in a sprawling controversy over Patel’s hockey fanaticism. CNN reported that the FBI director—nicknamed Keystone Kash for his many crime-fighting flubs—regularly misses meetings to hit the rink.
FBI spokesman Ben Williamson said in a statement to CNN: “The skipping meetings fake narrative is just not connected to any reality. Anyone who actually works with the Director will tell you he is a 24/7 operator.”
Patel is also reported to use official aircraft for personal trips, which the bureau insists is mandatory for security reasons.
When he is not jetting off to NHL fixtures, Patel suits up on Sunday nights for an Arlington, Virginia beer league, wearing number 22 for a team called “The Dons”—named after the Canadian hockey commentator Don Cherry, 92, not his boss, notes CNN.
Patel was hit with fresh scrutiny after The Atlantic reported last week that he had unnerved colleagues by allegedly drinking heavily and going AWOL from work. He responded by slapping the magazine and reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick with a $250 million defamation lawsuit on Monday.
Patel hit back at his critics during a Tuesday press conference, with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche standing alongside him: “I’m like an everyday American who loves his country, loves the sport of hockey. And champions my friends when they raise a gold medal and invite me in to celebrate.”
The Daily Beast contacted the White House and the FBI for comment. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Patel “remains a critical player on the Administration’s law and order team.”
