FBI Director Kash Patel has responded to criticism of him celebrating the USA men’s hockey team’s gold medal victory against Canada at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Sunday (22 February).
On Sunday, the USA won their first men’s hockey gold in 46 years with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Canada.
Jack Hughes’ strike in overtime secured victory before celebrations followed inside the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.
US President Donald Trump was quick to congratulate the side on their victory via social media before speaking to the squad through a phone call later in the evening.
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Trump posted several messages on Truth Social, with one reading: “Congratulations to our great U.S.A. Ice Hockey team. THEY WON THE GOLD. WOW! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
A second post added: “We’re winning too much, it’s just not fair! President DJT.”
Team USA’s coach, Mike Sullivan, also explained how the President expressed how proud he was of the team’s triumph.
Meanwhile, the White House’s official X account posted an image of a bald eagle landing on top of a Canadian goose in response to a previous post from Justin Trudeau, the former Prime Minister of Canada.
FBI Director Patel took it a step further and was front and centre during Team USA’s celebrations, appearing to drink alcohol while clad in a white, blue and red team jersey.
He proceeded to throw the drink around before wearing one of the team’s gold medals as the squad jumped up and down in the dressing room.
“Unity, Sacrifice, Attitude — what it takes to be the best in the world,” Patel wrote in an initial post.
“These men live and breathe it. Now Team USA are gold medal champions, legends standing on the shoulders of giants. Thank you for representing the greatest country on earth, in the greatest game ever created.”
This did not go down well with certain members of the media, as earlier in the day, an armed man was killed by Secret Service agents after entering the perimeter of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
In a second post, Patel appeared to respond to what he described as the “concerned media”.
The 45-year-old wrote: “For the very concerned media — 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 — greatest country on earth and greatest sport on earth.”
The US finished second in the overall medal table while Canada wound up 11th.
Topics: Donald Trump, Ice Hockey
Luke Davies