Trump in search of waste need look no further than his own staff
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Who is Kash Patel and why is he significant in Trump's FBI staff?
He made himself cash branded merchandise where the S in cash is a dollar sign. Get it? He sold cash branded wine. He sold a magic elixir that he said would reverse your vaccination status. By some sad turn of events, you'd had the COVID vaccine. He could reverse it for you. He sold something called Coin, but with a G. Coin? C-O-I-G-N. He called it a credit card for conservatives, because you know, conservatives can't use regular credit cards. He did podcasts for a conspiracy theorist media company controlled by the Chinese Falun Gong religious movement. He also famously sold a whole line of children's books about the glory of King Donald, which means exactly what you think it does. And so naturally, Donald Trump looked at that list of qualifications and decided that that guy, that man, is the right choice to be director of the FBI. And at that job, Kash Patel quickly distinguished himself. Very quickly. Very, very quickly. Upon reporting for the job, Mr. Patel made clear his immediate priorities.
Quoting from the Wall Street Journal, quote, Patel told officials he planned to spend a lot of time in Las Vegas, where he was living last year. He ordered new decor for his Washington office at the FBI headquarters and asked for his personal trainer to be cleared to enter the headquarters building for his workouts. That same Wall Street Journal story about Kash Patel's first days on the job at the FBI also included the fact that Mr. Patel, quote, broke a promise he made to agents that he would appoint a deputy director of the FBI from among their ranks. So here's this like podcaster tent revival guy with the merchandise branded with his name and the bottles of snake oil that he'll sell you and the children's books about Donald Trump being a king. That is who Donald Trump puts in charge of the FBI. When he gets there, he tells the agents of the FBI essentially, hey, listen, don't worry. I know I'm an outsider, but I respect what you do enough.
that we're going to pick one of you guys, an experienced FBI agent, to be my deputy in running this place. Sure, maybe I'm just a podcaster, but we'll put somebody in here as my number two who you'll really trust. And then does he do that? No, he does not. He hires instead, as the deputy director of the FBI, another podcaster. Um, this burly man whose whole kind of brand as a podcaster is that he's kind of burly. His whole shtick is man in tight t-shirt talks about fighting a lot and makes a lot of melodrama about the importance of physical toughness and being willing to die heroically for the cause. And of course, the cause is the greatness and infallibility of Donald Trump. Wow. Does he love that guy?
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Who is Kash Patel and why is he significant in Trump's FBI staff?
1:36–5:05
2
What controversial actions did Kash Patel take as FBI Director?
5:05–9:37
3
Why does Deputy Director Dan Bongino have an unprecedented security detail?
9:37–15:36
4
What unusual demands has Interior Secretary Doug Burgum made of his staff?
15:36–23:42
5
What recent protests have taken place against Trump administration cuts?
23:42–27:24
6
How are federal workers responding to administration layoffs and cuts?
27:24–32:33
7
What legal actions have been taken against Trump’s treatment of the press?
32:33–40:18
8
How has public outcry affected Trump administration policies on historic sites and environmental protection?
40:18–43:07
Speakers
4 identifiedMore from The Rachel Maddow Show
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