FBI Director Kash Patel posted a hype video on X hours after Saturday Night Live mocked him in its latest cold open. The video is set to the Guns N’ Roses song You Could Be Mine and features a mix of FBI footage, audio clips of Patel speaking at press briefings, and news reels. The timing of the video raised eyebrows, coming so soon after the SNL sketch aired, and it quickly became a talking point online.
The 46-year-old used the video to talk about what he sees as his achievements over the past year as President Donald Trump’s FBI director. In the video, he claims the agency “delivered the safest America under President Trump’s leadership in the history of our country.” He also cited “the best numbers for fighting crime in U.S. history” as proof of the FBI’s success under his watch, though no supporting data was provided alongside these statements.
According to The Daily Beast, the video shows Patel firing a weapon at a shooting range, giving an outdoor speech, and walking around in sunglasses and camouflage. One notable detail is that the song used in the video was made by Guns N’ Roses, whose frontman Axl Rose has publicly spoken out against Donald Trump, making the music choice stand out to many viewers.
SNL roasted Patel the same night, and his other controversies are piling up
The SNL sketch that aired the same night took a sharp aim at Patel’s time as FBI director. The show portrayed him as a bumbling and incompetent official, and the sketch also referenced the recent shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where a gunman allegedly tried to breach the event and target administration officials. According to reports, Patel was not included on the gunman’s alleged hit list, a detail that drew further public attention to him.
Patel has also been in the news for suing The Atlantic over a report published last month about his alleged excessive drinking, reports The Independent. The report described him as a “podcaster-turned-FBI-director” who is more focused on his public image than on doing his job. The lawsuit has been widely criticized.
This comes at a time when Trump has also been making headlines for his latest late-night social media activity, including posting AI-generated images of himself in an 11 PM spree. Patel has posted several claims about the FBI’s performance under his leadership. He has said the agency “cut the bureaucracy” and “saved more than $300 million by shuttering wasteful contracts.”
However, no concrete data or evidence has been provided to back up these claims, and critics have dismissed them as empty boasting with nothing solid to show for it. The White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting also brought more scrutiny to Patel.
The gunman allegedly wrote a manifesto that did not include Patel on his target list, which drew public attention and questions about his role and standing within the administration. His response to the incident has been called into question by several observers. Patel’s lawsuit against The Atlantic, his social media posts, and the hype video have all come under fire.
Meanwhile, Trump has been drawing attention of his own, with reports that he is shutting down D.C.’s busiest public golf course to tear it up and rebuild it his way. The report that triggered the lawsuit accused Patel of being more interested in managing his image than in carrying out his duties as FBI director, and the legal action has not done much to quiet the criticism directed at him.
Published: May 4, 2026 09:30 am