Trump Administration Members Keep Getting Caught Doing One Embarrassing Thing

By Shreya Mali
Kash Patel standing next to Pam Bondi with his arms crossed Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

The inner thoughts of certain members of Donald Trump's inner circle aren't a mystery anymore. FBI Director Kash Patel apparently needed some reassurance while he was bombarded with questions about the Epstein files during a September 2025 hearing before the House Judiciary Committee. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like he could get it from his peers, so Patel supposedly took a piece of paper that had "Director Patel" printed on the top and wrote, "Good fight with Swalwell. Hold the line. Brush off their attacks. Rise above the next line of partisan attacks." 

A close-up of Kash Patel's handwritten letterWin Mcnamee/Getty

Worse, the controversial FBI director wasn't particularly discreet with his affirmations so the cameras got a clear glimpse of them during the hearing. After seeing the paper, many people took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to poke fun at the Republican. While one person quipped, "Kash Patel has a mini vision board," another could relate to his struggles on some level, joking, "This reads like the pep talk I give myself before every holiday with my family." Some commentators were convinced that the former federal prosecutor had "Live, Laugh, Love" written in some corner of his home too. 

By then, several celebrities had already publicly slammed Kash Patel, so the Internet's comments likely only added salt to his wounds. But the FBI director may have found some solace in knowing that he wasn't the only Trump staffer to have made the embarrassing flub. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi's notes were also clearly visible when she testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in October 2025. However, she needed something entirely different from Patel to get through the brutal hearing. 

Donald Trump set an embarrassing example for his employees

Donald Trump giving a speech while holding his finger up Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Pam Bondi seemingly needed to collect her thoughts before sitting in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, so she created a cheat sheet of sorts to help her answer tough questions. Through photos captured by Reuters' Jonathan Ernst, we learned that the U.S. Attorney General had seemingly dedicated an entire page to counterarguments she could use against Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. For some reason, Bondi felt compelled to strongly remind herself to make a simple argument, as she had written and underlined: "You are a total hypocrite." 

Bondi and Kash Patel may have simply been following in the steps of their boss, Donald Trump, who made the same error back in February 2018. When the president heard the heartbreaking stories of those affected by the Parkland school shooting, he carried what appeared to be a briefing note. Photos captured by Carolyn Kaster for the Associated Press revealed that three of the five pointers featured questions that Trump could ask to make people feel heard. 

However, whoever wrote the note was unsure if the divisive politician would get the point, because they also reminded him to quite literally say, "I hear you." Despite being ridiculed for the move, Trump continued sticking to his outdated habit of paper briefings during his second administration. However, that only led to more awkward Trump moments being captured on camera. For instance, in October 2025, Associated Press photographer Evan Nucci captured Secretary of State Marco Rubio handing the president a handwritten note urging him to "approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce a deal first." This was an apparent reference to the Palestine-Israel ceasefire agreements.

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