President Donald Trump has thrown the head of the FBI a lifeline as scrutiny over the handling of the manhunt for Charlie Kirk’s assassin continues to grow.
Trump said on Saturday he’s “proud” of FBI Director Kash Patel and his agency for identifying Kirk’s alleged assassin, according to a Fox News reporter.
EXCLUSIVE: just spoke to President Trump, who praised @FBIDirectorKash and FBI for their work in identifying Charlie Kirk’s assassin. “I am very proud of the FBI. Kash—and everyone else— they have done a great job.” @realDonaldTrump
— Brooke Singman (@BrookeSingman) September 13, 2025
“I am very proud of the FBI. Kash—and everyone else— they have done a great job,” said Trump, per Brooke Singman quoting him in a Saturday post on X.
Trump’s praise comes amid growing scrutiny over Patel’s handling of the investigation into Kirk’s Sept. 10 assassination, which came to a head with the arrest of 22-year-old Tyler Robinson.
The FBI Director’s use of social media to give contradictory updates threw the manhunt for Kirk’s killer into chaos. Patel announced the release of a suspect on Wednesday on X, just hours after saying law enforcement had him in custody.
The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement. Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency https://t.co/YXsG6YpFR5
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) September 10, 2025
The tweet stirred confusion and was corrected by local officials, who said there had been two individuals who were questioned and released.
“What he did yesterday has never been done by any FBI director before him, or any division leadership before,” retired FBI agent Dan Brunner told Reuters.
“The investigators need to sort through all the initial intelligence before putting out factual evidence,” he added. “FBI does not run investigations on social media.”
Fox News host Brian Kilmeade said on Friday on Fox and Friends that “the FBI seems to be in somewhat disarray,” following the delay of a press conference on Thursday given by Patel and his deputy director, Dan Bongino.
The news conference provided little information regarding the identity of the suspect.
“And then when they did [the press conference], they didn’t nail anybody,” Kilmeade said. “In real time, are we seeing people in the FBI who just want to do their own thing and don’t want to accept new leadership, and is it hurting this investigation?”
But during the press conference, Patel was criticized for his silent appearance and not addressing reporters or allowing media questions, which only fueled public opinion that the agency was lacking information at the time.
Utah Dept of Public Safety chief Beau Mason says they have “no idea” whether Charlie Kirk’s killer is close or still in the state. “We’re exploring leads for individuals out of state and individuals that live close by.” pic.twitter.com/WoUQWv3Rt9
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) September 12, 2025
Utah Department of Public Safety commissioner Beau Mason admitted on Thursday to MSNBC that they had “no idea” if the suspect they are looking for was still even in the state, who was arrested on Friday following a tip from a family friend, according to Utah’s governor.
The post Trump Hands Keystone Kash a Lifeline After Kirk Hunt Fiasco appeared first on The Daily Beast.
