{"id":469310,"date":"2026-02-24T08:18:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T08:18:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/469310\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T08:18:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T08:18:17","slug":"maga-bros-unite-over-olympic-gold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/469310\/","title":{"rendered":"MAGA bros unite over Olympic gold."},"content":{"rendered":"

The director of the FBI got a Make-a-Wish experience over the weekend. You and I paid several hundred thousand dollars (at least) to send Kash Patel to Milan, where he watched from a suite as the American men\u2019s hockey team beat Canada in overtime for the Olympic gold medal<\/a>. Whether by inviting himself or getting the call from members of the team, Patel then got to live every 45-year-old\u2019s dream and celebrate with the team. Gathered around in the center of the locker room, drenched with beer, were the proud American players and the boss of their country\u2019s top investigative force.<\/p>\n

A source sent me this video of FBI Director Kash Patel partying with the US Men’s Olympic Hockey team. pic.twitter.com\/egjmdhOAF6<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 William Turton (@WilliamTurton) February 22, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Patel lined up a few meetings in Italy, which appear to have had the purpose of letting his spokesman pretend he was there on law enforcement business rather than to watch hockey and drink with the athletes who had just won the gold. The night before the U.S. played Canada for gold, an MS NOW reporter asked an FBI spokesman if Patel would be at the hockey game. The spokesman replied<\/a>: \u201cYour rag outlet wrote that he went to hang out at the Olympics on the taxpayer dime – even when provided information that your theory was false. When you\u2019re ready to correct that let me know. Won\u2019t hold my breath.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hours later, Patel, who again was traveling on the taxpayer dime, turned up at the Olympics. The first reveal came via an Instagram story posted by American forward Dylan Larkin, who was carrying his phone from person to person before Patel just popped into the screen with him<\/a>. Someone\u2014I am desperate to find out who\u2014then gave ProPublica reporter William Turton the video embedded above that shows Patel slamming a beer and screaming. Then, another video leaked of Patel conducting a locker-room-wide call<\/a> with President Donald Trump. On this call, Trump invited the American men to the State of the Union and the White House, while noting that he\u2019d also have to invite the gold medal\u2013winning<\/a> women\u2019s team to the event, lest he get impeached.<\/p>\n

You may think that Patel, who once criticized his predecessor\u2019s personal use of a government plane<\/a>, comes out of this looking like a bit of a hypocrite. But really, his fantasy-camp weekend was the ultimate act of honesty and revelation for him, his government, and his favorite international hockey team. Nobody involved could have possibly been more explicit regarding what they care about and what they think this team represents.<\/p>\n

First, let\u2019s talk about what isn\u2019t surprising about all this. It\u2019s not new that Patel would use your money to go on a fun recreational trip. Be they government security forces or aircraft, the FBI director has a liking for the finer, taxpayer-funded things in life. The New York Times reported in November that he had made a habit of directing federal security officers to protect his girlfriend<\/a>, a country music artist. Patel has regularly used the bureau\u2019s plane to see her shows<\/a>, rendering the jet unusable for actual crime-fighting activities. It is also not new that Patel would use your money to go watch hockey. He randomly turned up next to<\/a> Wayne Gretzky at two NHL games last year as Alexander Ovechkin was breaking Gretzky\u2019s all-time goals record. Patel is a longtime amateur player<\/a>. And he said last July<\/a> that he was planning to see the men\u2019s team at the Olympics. How fortunate that he had meetings in Milan!<\/p>\n

Also not new is the glowing embrace that USA Hockey\u2019s men\u2019s operation has given to Trump and his underlings. A big chunk of the 1980 \u201cMiracle on Ice\u201d team has appeared with Trump on both the campaign trail and in the Oval Office. Trump also loomed large for the men\u2019s team during the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament last year, with the American general manager saying there was a \u201cpolitical flair\u201d to the Americans\u2019 three on-ice fights against Canada.<\/p>\n

Even if these behaviors and predilections aren\u2019t new<\/a>, Patel\u2019s visit brings some fresh clarity to a whole bunches of issues revolving around him and his political movement.<\/p>\n

First is the sneering contempt for women\u2019s sports that Patel, his boss, and, unfortunately, some number of American men\u2019s hockey players carry around with them. The Republican Party has refashioned itself in recent years as the party that cares about women\u2019s sports and female athletes. It has done this in the service of keeping trans women out of these sports, an awkward initiative given how dismissive so many conservatives are of women athletes<\/a> when the subject isn\u2019t trans eligibility. Still, it was genuinely shocking when Trump, on a speakerphone in Patel\u2019s hand, told the team, \u201cI must tell you, we\u2019re gonna have to bring the women\u2019s team. You do know that.\u201d The room let out a big, hearty laugh, and Trump continued, \u201cI do believe I probably would be impeached.\u201d<\/p>\n

A particular bummer here was the visible, bent-over laughter of overtime hero Jack Hughes, whose mom literally works for the women\u2019s team<\/a>. The women\u2019s squad\u2014which has been considerably more successful than the men\u2019s for the past several decades\u2014was a good laugh line for Trump, Patel, and the American men. Some classic locker room talk<\/a>, eh boys?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Alex Kirshner
\n The Olympic Hockey Tournament Is About to Get Very Trumpy
\n Read More\n <\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Just as revealing is the fact that Patel was so comfortable being in Milan in the first place. His team was clearly a little squeamish about the optics, as evidenced by the effort to make it appear that he had a serious, non-hockey reason to go overseas. After all, the FBI director\u2019s historical remit is to do work related to, uh, crime. But here was Patel, watching hockey instead of doing the things the public usually expects the FBI director to do. Nancy Guthrie remains missing<\/a>. (Cut to a visual of Patel cheering from his box.) Various Epstein files remain redacted or unreleased. (Hey, check out this video of the FBI director chugging a beer.)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The U.S. Had a Crazy Strategy to Beat Canada for Men\u2019s Hockey Gold. I Can\u2019t Believe It Worked.
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Kash Patel and the U.S. Men\u2019s Hockey Team Deserve Each Other
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Patel is touchy enough about appearances to send condescending tweets<\/a> about \u201cvery concerned media\u201d focusing on his hockey attendance because they just can\u2019t stand how much he loves America. But if he cared as much about safeguarding taxpayer money, he wouldn\u2019t have gone to Milan in the first place, much less posted pictures<\/a> of his trip. In fact, it seems like Patel believes that posting things on the internet is the most important part of his job. He is obsessive about social media, reportedly scripting out his own releases of information on Twitter<\/a>, as well as how his deputies will interact with his posts. Yes, in theory, his job is to fight crime. But in practice, he mostly wants to get retweets and watch hockey. If that costs a bit of taxpayer money, so be it.<\/p>\n

A lot of people got a nice little boost from Team USA\u2019s big win on Sunday. Trump got to be chummy with athletes and attach himself to a moment of patriotism. The American players got to have a phone call with the big man. But nobody had a better time than the FBI director whose only managerial responsibility was to direct some beers into his mouth while his heroes let him cosplay as a gold medalist.<\/p>\n

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