Summary
Kash Patel, Trump’s FBI director pick, has no FBI experience but is deeply tied to far-right media, frequently hosting Steve Bannon’s podcast.
Patel promotes conspiracy theories, including claims of Chinese election interference and a “two-tiered justice system” targeting Trump allies. He has called for extreme measures, like arresting Attorney General Merrick Garland, and keeps a literal enemies list in his book Government Gangsters.
Critics compare Patel to J. Edgar Hoover, warning of potential abuses of federal power under his leadership. His proposals include prosecuting political opponents and journalists.
Patel’s nomination reflects Trump’s broader anti-establishment approach to governance.
As insane as some of these Trump picks sound, in the case of Patel and a few others I wonder if they aren’t just shrewd - they simply play up to MAGA and Trump because they’ve realized he’s the most powerful man within the GOP and that his base provide a well of fanatical political loyalty they can tap into for their careers without necessarily meaning the crazy things they say.
What a fuckin’ thing to have to hope for 😮💨
Unfortunately, that’s not true for Patel. He’s got a huge bone to pick with the government.
I’m not certain it’s the same guy but one story I heard over the radio about a month ago that stuck with me was when he was early in his career (I think as a public defender), he was kicked out of a courtroom over a dress code violation by a judge who was a bit over the line. (Let me know if it’s another person, this was before Kash was picked and the description fit, there aren’t that many Indian guys in Trump’s circle).
Situations of being disrespected in such a way radicalized people, and as far as I can tell, he’s quite genuine in his beliefs about a deep state. That said, I’m with you on quite a few of the nominations and politicians in general. Marco Rubio, for instance, is probably just sucking MAGA cock.
Yep, that’s more or less it. To add insult to injury, he wanted someone higher in his chain to fight for him or at least tell him he was a good boy. No one did, and his superiors basically shrugged and said, “Guess you should have had a tie or whatever.” And he took that personally.
The sad thing is that it’s a super relatable story. Everyone has been in his place at one point or another where they’ve essentially been set up for failure. Normal people, though, would just get over it and turn it into a funny story down the line about the stupid indignities of their position. It really shouldn’t be a villain origin story.
Glad I remembered correctly. There’s probably something else than that singular incident (like, to use a term he probably hates, microaggresions) but it really does sound like his villain origin story.
One must wonder: What turns someone into a Kash Patel vs. a Bernie Sanders type?
So people who are going to be the people in power think there is a deep state? Are they not going to be exactly that.
I think people like Patel believe they’ll challenge the establishment by being there, but they’re also so unaware of the inner workings that it’s not clear they know just who they want to stop. Just an aimless sense of spite.