Jon Stewart halted the Daily Show last night to make fun of “crazy eyes” Kash Patel after Team USA’s hockey win at the Winter Olympics.
The comedian and television host, 63, began his show by painting a bleak picture of what America was like before the team’s 2-1 win at the weekend. “This country is in such emotional turmoil right now,” Stewart said.
He continued, “A feeling that we are one nation divided, under siege. That perhaps we have crossed a Rubicon of this great American experiment, and that we, slowly and inexorably, are sliding into the abyss of fallen and broken democracies. But then!”
The show then cut to a clip of hockey player Jack Hughes scoring the game-winning goal in the match against Canada. Stewart exclaimed, “We’re back, motherf—-r! I know the powerful elites remain unaccountable, but he put the thing behind that other guy!
“This country was sinking into a cesspool we couldn’t recover from, but he put the vulcanized rubber disc behind the lord of the net! It was so unifying! There is nothing that can take away from the joyous moment as all Americans celebrate this incredible — wait, what the f–k?”
The program then showed a clip of FBI director Patel celebrating with Team USA in their locker room. The comedian said, “Is that FBI director Kash Patel? Are they putting a medal on FBI director Kash Patel? Is Kash Patel a Make-a-Wish man?”
He then added, “Is that what this is? Listen, I’m not trying to diminish his condition. There is currently no cure for Crazy Eyes.” An FBI spokesman had said in the days leading up to the game that Patel’s trip to Milan during the Olympics was primarily for professional purposes, with the director posting on social media work-related photographs of his meetings with European security officials.
But the trip took a more playful turn on Sunday when videos circulating online showed a pumped-up Patel, a hockey fan, drinking beer from a bottle and spraying the rest around the locker room. After one of the players draped his gold medal around the FBI director’s neck, he joined the players as they jumped up and down in celebration.
The episode deepened questions about Patel’s personal travels, a persistent storyline from the first year of his tenure not only because of their frequency but also because he had chastised his predecessor, Chris Wray, for his use of the FBI plane. In this instance, the Olympics celebration took place as FBI officials were investigating an armed man who was shot and killed by the US Secret Service after he breached the secure perimeter of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
“The grift & corruption is unreal,” Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado posted on X. “Your taxpayer dollars funding the FBI Director’s Italian vacation.”
Patel responded to the criticism by posting on his personal X account that, “Yes, I love America and was extremely humbled when my friends, the newly minted Gold Medal winners on Team USA, invited me into the locker room to celebrate this historic moment with the boys.”
The White House signaled its backing for Patel, with communications director Steven Cheung writing on X that “Kash was also in Italy meeting with regional partners and security teams” and telling a reporter, “Don’t be mad because America won.”
