A picture is worth a thousand words—but in Kash Patel’s case, the internet only needed about five: “This dude is an idiot.”
The FBI Director, who’s never been a stranger to controversy, found himself the butt of the internet’s jokes after a Getty photographer caught a glimpse of his handwritten notes during a tense House Judiciary Committee hearing this week. The photo, shared by journalist Aaron Rupar on X, quickly spread like wildfire—and so did the mockery.
The notes, scribbled in Patel’s own hand, read like a pep talk he might’ve written on the back of a middle school test: “Good fight with Swalwell.” “Hold the line.” “Brush off their attacks.” “Rise above next line of partisan attacks.”
He got roasted from every corner of the internet.
“Performative clown @FBIDirectorKash – even MAGA knows he’s not up for the job,” wrote former Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock.
Ron Filipkowski, editor-in-chief at MeidasTouch, didn’t mince words: “This is the cringiest MFer in the MAGA movement, hands down.”
Patel’s notes surfaced during his second hearing of the week—this one in front of House lawmakers. A day earlier, he testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Both appearances were dominated by high-profile and high-pressure topics, including the FBI’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation and the political fallout from the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
But it wasn’t his testimony that stole the headlines—it was the chicken-scratch coaching manual he apparently needed to survive the hearing.
Max Flugrath, communications director at Fair Fight Action, called it out plainly: “These aren’t notes – it’s a script to follow in hopes of generating clips MAGA can use for social media propaganda.”
Adam Cochran, an investigative journalist, didn’t hold back either: “As if we need more proof of Kash being an idiot… His notes include ‘Good fight with Swalwell’ and a reminder to ‘hold the line.’”
Matt Johnson summed up the mood of many critics, writing: “It’s almost like @FBIDirectorKash is a partisan hack that has no business running a Kinko’s let alone the FBI.”
Even the jokes got brutal. Chris Robinson quipped, “Does Trump give him a treat for this? A later bed time? More screen time?”
For Kash Patel, this isn’t just a bad look. It’s an unforced error that turned a high-stakes hearing into a meme factory.
