Kash Patel's futile quest for validation

Kash Patel’s futile quest for validation
The FBI director tries to force his popularity on the American public and media — and it backfires

By Amanda Marcotte
Senior Writer
Published April 24, 2026 6:45AM (EDT)


(Salon) The Atlantic’s recent exposé of Kash Patel is full of alarming allegations. The FBI director, according to sources, has exhibited erratic behavior and absenteeism stemming from what is described as heavy drinking. Especially worrisome is the claim that his staff has repeatedly had “difficulty waking Patel because he was seemingly intoxicated.”

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Last summer, a similar story appeared in the New York Times. The FBI director, the article alleged, was ordering polygraph tests on bureau officials to ask whether “they have said anything negative about Mr. Patel.” Unprofessional and disturbing as the claim may be, it also provides a hilarious example of how narcissists defeat themselves. When former agents spoke to the New York Times on Wednesday, they described being initially open and “cautiously optimistic” about Patel. But it’s hard to imagine anyone would retain a desire to like the guy after he made them endure a polygraph to assess his own popularity.

Since the Atlantic story appeared, Patel’s childish reaction to criticism has been on full display. On Sunday night, he tweeted that “the only time I’ll ever actually be concerned about the hit piece lies you write about me will be when you stop.” At a press conference two days later, he repeated his insistence that he’s above it all by responding to a question about the Atlantic’s allegations with, “I can say unequivocally that I never listen to the fake news mafia.”

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Looking at Patel’s career before he took over the FBI shows a strong pattern of thirsty behavior that makes all of this sadly predictable. He was actually doing quite well for himself as a lawyer before he caught the social media bug, working as a federal prosecutor for years before getting plum jobs in national intelligence and defense during the first Trump term. But he started to go regularly on right-wing podcasts, and even hosted one of his own: “Kash’s Corner,” which aired on a channel run by conspiracy theorist Stew Peters. .................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2026/04/24/kash-patels-futile-quest-for-validation/