'Cringiest': FBI Director Kash Patel's 'weird' farewell to Charlie Kirk sparks confusion

FBI Director Kash Patel issued right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk a farewell Friday during a press conference on the apprehension of Kirk’s suspected killer, though his choice of words has sparked confusion online.

“To my friend Charlie Kirk: rest now brother, we have the watch, and I’ll see you in Valhalla,” Patel said, referencing the utopian realm of Valhalla from Norse mythology.

Given that Patel is Hindu, and Kirk, an evangelical Christian, the reference to an afterlife rooted in Norse mythology drew criticism online, many of whom questioned why it was that Patel chose to invoke a pagan warrior afterlife rather than one aligned with either of the two’s religious faiths.

“Why in the world did Kash Patel mention Valhalla?” wrote journalist Zaid Jilani on X, author of “The American Saga” newsletter, to his more than 148,000 followers. “What kind of Marvel Cinematic Universe government do we have right now?”

Patel’s comments were made following a press conference in Utah where officials fielded questions from the press on Kirk’s suspected killer, later identified as 22-year-old Utah resident Tyler Robinson. Robinson was turned in to authorities by his father, Trump suggested and media outlets have corroborated.

And while Kirk’s killing has drawn bi-partisan condemnation, Patel’s choice of words in bidding Kirk farewell came off to many of those online as “weird.”

“Considering Kirk’s devout Christianity, saying you’ll see him in the pagan afterlife is weird,” wrote Andrew Tollemache on X, a self-described resident of Texas who shares content on stock market activity. “I’ll chalk it up [to] Patel being a poser tough guy.”

Multiple X users called Patel’s remarks the “cringiest thing” they’ve heard, including Jim Stewartson, journalist and co-host of the “Radicalized Podcast,” to his more than 133,000 followers.

“Neither of them believe in Valhalla by the way,” wrote Heidi Moore on X, a journalist formerly with the Wall Street Journal and the Guardian who now writes for their own Substack. “Our entire government is these bumbling dips---- pretending they're old Norse warriors.”