‘See If You Can Top That!’ Trump Urges Kash Patel to Praise Him Even More Than Stephen Miller Did at Fawning Roundtable

 

When it comes to heaping praise on President Donald Trump in public, Stephen Miller is a tough act to follow.

FBI Director Kash Patel found that out the hard way on Monday, after Miller sang the president’s praises for nearly three minutes during a roundtable discussion on crime in Memphis, Tennessee.

“Thank you, Stephen. So Kash, see if you can top that!” Trump quipped, drawing a few chuckles from the panel. “I don’t know, that’s a tough one, Kash.”

“That’s tough,” Patel admitted, before starting his own speech about how great of a job Trump has done in his second term.

Miller had just lauded the president for his “vision, courage, and determination” that led to the “lowest national murder rate” and the “largest reduction in illegal immigration in American history,” among several other examples he pointed to.

“If we had an honest media in this country, the statistics I Just gave you would be [shared] 24/7 on the news,” Miller said.

He then praised Trump for assembling the “greatest national security and public safety team in American history,” which he said two people who were sitting on the panel — Attorney General Pam Bondi and Patel.

Miller added Trump’s crackdown on crime has been a “national miracle” that will be studied for generations to come.

His performance even surprised Trump, who joked Patel had the unenviable task of following Miller.

Patel seemed up to the challenge, though. He gave Trump kudos for his “brilliant leadership” and said he has emboldened the “greatest warriors” to punish criminals appropriately.

“Here in Memphis, Tennessee, you have put on a show for the world,” Patel said. “You have allowed us to go out there and capture gangbangers, rapists, murderers, drug dealers, at record, historic levels.”

He added, “for me — a first-generation Indian-American kid whose parents fled a genocide in East Africa — to become the ninth director of the FBI, I’m living the wildest dream you could possibly imagine, sir.”

Their back-to-back speeches came during the roundtable on the Memphis Safe Task Force, about six months after Trump sent the National Guard to the city. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) were two of the other notable figures included in the discussion.

Trump gave Patel his stamp of approval after his two-minute speech.

“He did pretty good!” Trump marveled.

Watch Patel’s speech in the video at the top of the page, and you can watch Miller’s speech in the second clip. Both via CSPAN.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!

Tags: