President Donald Trump privately conveyed disappointment to FBI Director Kash Patel over Patel’s behavior at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, including a viral locker-room celebration and his use of government aircraft for the trip, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Patel drew widespread attention after video surfaced showing him celebrating with the U.S. men’s hockey team following its 2-1 gold medal victory over Canada — the first Olympic gold for the U.S. men’s team since 1980. In footage first posted by ProPublica, Patel, an avid hockey fan, was seen chugging a beer, banging on a table and shouting in celebration inside the locker room.
The scene circulated widely on social media and prompted scrutiny in Washington. Trump, who does not drink alcohol, was unhappy with both the optics of the celebration and Patel’s use of an FBI aircraft to travel to Italy, according to the person familiar with the conversation.
The FBI declined to comment on whether Trump had expressed frustration to Patel. White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson did not directly address the Olympics episode but defended Patel’s performance in office.
“Crime rates are dropping across the board,” Jackson said in a statement. “This is a direct result of the President’s law and order agenda which is being successfully implemented by his law and order team, including FBI Director Kash Patel. The President has full confidence in his Administration.”
Patel has maintained that his travel to Italy was official and not solely for Olympic attendance. In a post on X following publication of the locker-room video, he 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.”
According to his office, the trip included meetings with Italian law enforcement officials and coordination with U.S. agencies responsible for security at the international sporting event.
The Italy travel coincided with a security incident at Trump’s Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, where an armed man entered the security perimeter and was shot. Trump was not present at the time.
Patel’s use of government aircraft has previously drawn scrutiny. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, has asked the Justice Department’s inspector general to “investigate Director Patel’s misuse or mismanagement of government resources.”
On Friday, the group Democracy Defenders Fund filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking records related to Patel’s “official, personal, and political meetings” during the Italy trip. The request seeks materials that could “shed light on Kash Patel’s use of government resources, including government aircraft, to facilitate his attendance at the 2026 Olympics and whether he accepted any gifts including free attendance at the men’s hockey final.”
The Olympics celebration also intersected with domestic political optics. Earlier this week, Trump invited members of the gold medal-winning U.S. men’s hockey team to attend his State of the Union address. During the speech, he introduced the players, who entered the House chamber wearing gold medals and USA sweatshirts to chants of “U-S-A.” Trump also announced he would award the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to the team’s goalie.
Symone Sanders, a former senior adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris and co-host of a weeknight program on MS NOW, criticized the team’s appearance.
“They should not be used as political props though, and, frankly, allowed themselves to be used as political props,” Sanders said after the president introduced the team.
“I think that is going to be the question and the discussion going forward,” she continued. “It is very clear why the president did this. What is unclear, to me, is why the men’s hockey team allowed themselves to be utilized in this particular fashion.”
Sanders added that “no one is against USA and our Olympic athletes.” Polling conducted by Maslansky + Partners during the State of the Union found that independent voters reacted positively to the hockey team’s introduction.
