Americans capped a joyous Winter Olympics this week by winning the gold medal in both the men's and women's competitions. For the men, it's the first gold medal since the legendary Miracle on Ice in 1980, when amateurs beat some of the world's best professionals to shock the world. Americans online and offline went wild with delight; our pal John Ondrasik may still be crying, and may still not be done tweeting about it.
CBS News got into the celebratory mood:
I have only one nit to pick with the CBS report. Hockey did not get invented in Canada; it was invented in Los Angeles when Wayne Gretzky walked into an ice rink and married Janet Jones. Before that, the game was known as ice soccer.
I kid, I kid ... mostly. Don't high-stick me, bro.
NBC offered a warm reception for America's new heroes:
Fans went wild with patriotic fervor, but keep choosing the wrong song ...
So it's all champagne, beer, and American flags with the people and the media, right? Is this a moment when the Protection Racket Media aligns with, y'know, the normies? Not so fast. M-SNOW revealed that they are working on a major scandal involving USA Hockey and ... the FBI? Turns out FBI Director Kash Patel was in Milan and caught the game, and M-SNOW is all over it:
Yes - Multiple sources have sent me and @KDilanianMSNOW this video *appearing to show* @FBIDirectorKash Patel guzzling from a beer and partying in locker room w US men's hockey team. His office insisted this was strictly a business trip. We at @MSNOWNews will share what we learn pic.twitter.com/IhGuIJkmXA
— Carol Leonnig (@CarolLeonnig) February 23, 2026
Well, I for one am just waiting with bated breath for more ... on why this is a news story at all. Patel himself announced months ago that he would be in Milan when the Olympics took place, and specifically noted his plans to attend the games in some fashion. The FBI coordinated intelligence and counterterrorism with other global partners to protect the Olympics in the Milan Joint Operations Center, as Patel explained the day before the hockey final:
Great visit with the Milan Joint Operations Center, a 24/7 interagency operation with international partners to support the Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games. The JOC is focused on protecting the US athletes, 250,000 US citizens who traveled to Milan for the games, as well as… pic.twitter.com/RKUuq28NGk
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) February 21, 2026
... as well as the private sector companies we share information with every day.
Nearly 100 US Government personnel have been surged to support the Olympics since the start of 2026 - with lessons we’ll take into the FIFA World Cup later this summer.
Thank you to Consul General Benning and the entire US Consulate Milan team for hosting - as well as DSS, FBI CIRG, and President Trump’s interagency teams for working around the clock to secure this incredible event
In other words, Patel didn't just make up a reason to fly to Milan for the Olympics. The FBI has a serious role to play in protecting these events, especially given the large number of American citizens present for them. The US men's hockey team invited him to attend the final and then to celebrate afterward in the locker room, which is analogous to going to see a show in the evening during a business trip in any other context. Business travelers do this so often that it's entirely unremarkable, except to the fainting-couch scolds at M-SNOW, who see it as a breaking news story worthy of follow-ups.
Patel responded later to the brief contretemps in the Bluesky bubble:
As criticism grew, Patel took to X to defend his presence at the celebration. In a post that has since garnered 3.5 million views, he pushed back against what he described as media concern over the moment.
“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,” Patel wrote.
Someone always has to drop a turd in the punchbowl, and that someone is almost always M-SNOW. Coming up on M-SNOW next: Did Donald Trump pay for his phone call? Will he pay for that military plane to bring the team to Capitol Hill?
Awesome! 🇺🇸 https://t.co/r8np7GhB7W
— John Ondrasik (@johnondrasik) February 23, 2026
Addendum: Don Lemon has entered the Turd In The Punchbowl chat:
Don Lemon on Kash Patel: “Why are you even there? On taxpayer dollars, on the plane. This administration is so tacky. You people have no class, it’s just gross. You’re trashy, it’s disgusting.“ pic.twitter.com/ezGWFzaDuT
— Marco Foster (@MarcoFoster_) February 23, 2026
Huh. You'd think a "journalist" would have done 30 seconds of research to answer the question he raised before blasting his ignorance onto social media. Of course, Lemon's not really a reporter ... which a court will likely conclude in the near-to-mid future. On the bright side, Lemon may have completed a successful audition for M-SNOW.
Editor's Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie about President Trump, his administration, and conservatives.
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