Dan Bongino Doomed? The MAGA Mob Is Out For Blood

Summary

Bulwark Takes: Dan Bongino Doomed? The MAGA Mob Is Out For Blood Release Date: April 22, 2025
Host/Author: The Bulwark
Guests: Will Sommer

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Overview

In the April 22, 2025 episode of Bulwark Takes, host Andrew Egger delves into the tumultuous position of Dan Bongino, the Deputy Director of the FBI and a prominent figure within the MAGA movement. Joined by reporter Will Sommer, the discussion navigates through Bongino's challenges in satisfying the high expectations of his MAGA supporters, ongoing swatting incidents targeting right-wing influencers, and the broader implications for the FBI's standing within the conservative base.

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Dan Bongino's Struggles in the FBI

Andrew Egger opens the conversation by highlighting the precarious situation Dan Bongino finds himself in. Once a celebrated figure among MAGA supporters for his outspoken nature and alignment with Trump's agenda, Bongino now faces criticism for not delivering the "based" outcomes his followers expect.

Andrew Egger [02:00]:
"It can be tricky because you have a spotlight on your work and people might start looking around saying, hey, what's going on? Where's my based MAGA outcomes?"

Will Sommer elaborates on Bongino's current approach, noting his frequent and somewhat erratic social media activity aimed at reassuring his base.

Will Sommer [01:30]:
"Dan Bongino is taking this kind of strange approach where he's constantly, constantly tweeting everyone's top bugging me, I'm working on it, I'm working on it."

This relentless communication has not only failed to placate his supporters but has also drawn more scrutiny and pressure, especially as Bongino handles delicate investigations.

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Swatting Incidents Targeting MAGA Influencers

A significant portion of the episode focuses on the rise of swatting—dangerous prank calls made to dispatch police to others' addresses—and its impact on right-wing figures. Bongino is under the spotlight due to recent swatting incidents involving influencers like Gunner Thorderson and Gunner Eagleman.

Andrew Egger [02:10]:
"What's going on with FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino these days?"

Will Sommer provides context, explaining that these swatting incidents have heightened expectations for Bongino to act swiftly, leading to heightened frustration among his supporters.

Will Sommer [02:30]:
"They start getting pizzas in this guy, dead guy's name. And then suddenly the cops come and it, you know, it's very sinister stuff. And so, you know, they're getting mad and they're saying Dan Bongino's useless."

These events exacerbate the pressure on Bongino to deliver tangible results, further entrenching his difficulties in meeting the MAGA base's demands.

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Balancing Law Enforcement Duties and Political Expectations

Egger and Sommer discuss the inherent conflict Bongino faces between his responsibilities as an FBI Deputy Director and the political expectations of his MAGA followers. Bongino's role requires impartiality and adherence to legal protocols, which often clashes with the partisan demands for high-profile arrests and actions against perceived enemies of the movement.

Andrew Egger [04:00]:
"You have accountability from the cranks in a way that it seems like, you know, Donald Trump never really does."

Sommer agrees, pointing out that while figures like Bongino are expected to deliver results, the nature of FBI work means that outcomes are not always immediate or sensational.

Will Sommer [05:00]:
"In the past we've had very button-down FBI directors. And then the deputy director of the FBI is supposed to be even more button-down."

This tension highlights the broader issue of how federal law enforcement interacts with highly partisan groups, and the challenges of maintaining operational integrity amidst political pressures.

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The Broader Impact on the FBI and Right-Wing Media

The episode also touches upon the larger narrative of distrust and antagonism between the FBI and certain segments of the right-wing media. With whistleblowers and conspiracy theorists publicly criticizing the FBI, leaders like Bongino find themselves at the crossroads of law enforcement and political propaganda.

Will Sommer [06:00]:
"There's so much scrutiny of the FBI from the right after years of these whistleblowers... they're saying Dan Bongino's betrayed us."

This environment not only complicates Bongino's ability to perform his duties effectively but also strains the relationship between federal agencies and the communities they serve.

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Comparisons with Other MAGA Figures

Egger draws parallels between Bongino's situation and that of other MAGA-aligned individuals like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who faces backlash for not completely adhering to the movement's more extreme beliefs.

Andrew Egger [09:00]:
"Maybe you'd be a little grateful because they honestly, they are... he's making us mad. He's owning us."

Sommer adds that while Bongino and similar figures are held accountable by their followers, Donald Trump remains somewhat insulated due to his established position and prior successes within the movement.

Will Sommer [10:00]:
"Trump is always kind of like hovering above this. Nobody ever kind of comes around demanding that he... "

This distinction underscores the complexities within the MAGA movement, where loyalty to central figures like Trump shields them from the same level of scrutiny faced by their allies.

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Conclusion

The episode concludes with a reflection on the untenable position Bongino occupies—struggling to meet the unrealistic expectations of his MAGA supporters while fulfilling his duties within the FBI. This dynamic not only affects Bongino personally but also has broader implications for the integrity and public perception of federal law enforcement agencies.

Andrew Egger [10:30]:
"Give Dan Bongino a little bit of a break or whatever."

The discussion wraps up by acknowledging the challenges Bongino faces and the necessity for more realistic expectations from both Bongino and his base to ensure effective law enforcement without compromising professional standards.

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Key Takeaways

• Dan Bongino's Dilemma: Balancing FBI duties with the high and often unrealistic expectations of the MAGA base.

• Swatting as a Weapon: An increase in swatting incidents targeting right-wing influencers intensifies pressure on Bongino.

• Law Enforcement vs. Partisan Pressure: The inherent conflict between impartial law enforcement responsibilities and partisan demands undermines operational effectiveness.

• Erosion of Trust: Continued scrutiny and conspiracy theories erode trust in the FBI among conservative groups.

• Leadership in Crisis: Bongino's situation exemplifies the broader challenges faced by federal agencies amidst political polarization.

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Notable Quotes

• Andrew Egger [02:00]:
  "It can be tricky because you have a spotlight on your work and people might start looking around saying, hey, what's going on? Where's my based MAGA outcomes?"

• Will Sommer [01:30]:
  "Dan Bongino is taking this kind of strange approach where he's constantly, constantly tweeting everyone's top bugging me, I'm working on it, I'm working on it."

• Will Sommer [06:00]:
  "There's so much scrutiny of the FBI from the right after years of these whistleblowers... they're saying Dan Bongino's betrayed us."

• Andrew Egger [10:30]:
  "Give Dan Bongino a little bit of a break or whatever."

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This episode of Bulwark Takes provides an in-depth analysis of the intersection between federal law enforcement and partisan politics, using Dan Bongino's current challenges as a focal point to explore broader themes of accountability, trust, and the complexities of serving in a politically charged environment.

Transcript

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[Andrew Egger]

B2 prohibited by law. See terms and conditions 18 +. Hi, this is Andrew Egger with the Bulwark. It can be hard sometimes when you are one of the MAGA figures who's been put in to the government supposedly to do incredibly based stuff all the time and make all of the MAGA people's wildest dreams come true. It can be tricky because you have a spotlight on your work and people might start looking around saying, hey, what's going on? Where's my based MAGA outcomes? Where are the people arrested that I've been looking to see arrested? What's going on in Donald Trump's White House? Dan Bongino, deputy director of the FBI, former right wing podcast host and kind of extended MAGA Trump world infotainment universe figure is having that problem these days. Here to talk about it, Will Sommer, our great reporter on the whole wild and woolly right wing media space. Will, what's going on with, with FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino these days?

[Will Sommer]

Yeah, sure. So Dan Bongino is taking this, you know, this former talk radio host is a podcast guy. He's taking this kind of strange approach where he's constantly, constantly tweeting everyone's top bugging me, I'm working on it, I'm working on it. You can't see what I'm working on. And so that got me interested. More recently he's been posting basically that the heat is on him because a bunch of right wing influencers, some people at Infowars, some people with Instagram accounts, I believe a guy named Gunner Eagleman, they all got swatted. And so now Dan is on the case and they're saying, hey, why haven't you caught this guy yet?

[Andrew Egger]

I did not know that that had happened to my boy. Is it Gunner? I like Gunther or something.

[Will Sommer]

Well, there's, there's, there's Gunner Thorderson and Gunner Eagleman. So there's two kind of like two similarly named MAGA influencers.

[Andrew Egger]

Yeah, yeah. Okay, well, I had not heard that that had happened to this. This is a strange thing, right? I mean, like swatting is a horrible, horrible phenomenon. It should happen to nobody. I assume people kind of know it's. It's this, this kind of like weaponized crank calling, basically where people call a police department and say, hey, you know, there's a violent crime taking place at this guy's home. Go check it out in tactical gear right away. It's violent, it can be dangerous. People answer their door and there's a SWAT team outside. It's a horrible thing. Shouldn't happen to anybody. Can you explain a little bit of background on why this is kind of a thing in MAGA media right now, why people have this on the mind and what they're expecting Gambon Gina to do about it?

[Will Sommer]

Yeah, sure. So, I mean, you know, as you said, I mean, so these are these incidents where, you know, it's often weirdly, in this case been preceded by a lot of unsolicited pizza deliveries and sort of in a creepy way, it's like in the. A bunch of infowars people got hit and an employee of theirs was recently murdered, like in an actual murder unrelated to this. And so then they start getting pizzas in this guy, dead guy's name. And then suddenly the cops come and it, you know, it's very sinister stuff. And so, you know, not unreasonably, they've been expecting some FBI action. Now I think, you know, I think the reality is these things, even in the best case, probably take a couple months to track the person down. But you know, they're getting mad and they're saying Dan Bongino's useless. And this is kind of blending in with the larger idea. I mean, in the case of some conspiracy theorists, I mean, they thought there were 50,000 indictments waiting of kind of de state figures and no one's been charged. And so this is kind of feeding into this broader discontent that Dan Bongino is really kind of taking head on and you know, for better or for worse.

[Andrew Egger]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, on a certain level you almost have to feel a little bit bad for Bongino here. Maybe, I mean, maybe you don't. I don't know. I'm just trying to tease all this through in my mind because it's like on the one hand, yes, like, like presumably they should be looking into these swattings. Presumably they are to some degree. He obviously is out here saying, give me some patience, give me some time. We're going to deal with all this stuff, but at the same time, because like you mentioned just a minute ago, there's, there's this much broader, wilder kind of world of, of right wing conspiracy, the QAnon adjacent stuff, the storm is coming type people who are expecting success for Bongino and Cash Patel and the rest of Trump's federal law enforcement to look not just like, we're going to get to the bottom of these swattings, but we're going to start perp walking all of the enemies of the regime that we've been waiting to see arrested publicly through the public square. Right. Like Liz Cheney in chains, Benny Thompson in chains. I don't know who all else counts as the people.

[Will Sommer]

Tom Hanks, Oprah. I mean, it's a very expansive list.

[Andrew Egger]

Right, right, right. And so if you're Bongino, you're already kind of like, you have a lot of these people who are pre primed to think you must be doing a bad job just because that stuff hasn't happening. And then you add on to that the difficulty of supervising the actual criminal investigations of true, actual criminality for this audience that's like increasingly who's expecting you really to deliver, but also is increasingly hostile, you know, based on the stuff that's not happening. The wild stuff that they expected you to be able to deliver.

[Will Sommer]

Yeah, exactly. And, you know, he's also has a lot of scrutiny. I mean, there's so much scrutiny of the FBI from the. Right. After years of these whistleblowers, you know, who are claiming, oh, the FBI is out to get Trump people, then him and Bongino and Cash Patel are promoting people who have been implicated as kind of like Trump haters, I think, often baselessly. And then suddenly there's this whole universe of FBI whistleblowers now with podcasts who can say, you know, Bongino's betrayed us.

[Andrew Egger]

Yeah, there's basically like two ways of looking at it as far as I'm concerned. The one is that, I mean, how far off the reservation are we. Maybe we'll just talk about this first. Like, is this, is this the kind of stuff that we want the deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to be spending his time like, like, are these the people, these Infowars guys? Are these the people who we want him to wake up thinking, how do I please these guys today in my role in this very prominent role in federal law enforcement?

[Will Sommer]

No, I wouldn't say so. I mean, I think that's like, you know, in the past we've had Very button down FBI directors. And then the deputy director of the FBI is supposed to be even more button down. I mean, this is the guy who runs the show really behind the scenes. And instead you get Dan Bongino, who is tweeting like every other day at this point for a month about saying, hey, you know haters, back off. I'm working on it. You can't see it. There was one point he said, if you think I just came to D.C. for a vacation, like, you're out of your mind. I mean, like real kind of trash talk, you know. The other thing I get into in this, this newsletter is he tweeted, you know, there's an article coming out about me in the New York Times. It says I got owned on the wrestling mat by one of the FBI's fitness instructors. The truth is, it was only. I was only hurt a little bit.

[Andrew Egger]

I'm sorry. That's so good. That's so good. Sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off. Keep going. Is it like.

[Will Sommer]

No, I mean, that's. He said the Times is going to say that I was injured, but in fact, it's a bit of a swelling. Now this time, Times reporter, he essentially calls him a pencil neck. He's like, this guy could never understand the need to get out and spar on the mat. I mean, this is like, I should say this is like a 500 word tweet. You know, this guy could never understand why sometimes I got to mix it up with the troops and like, yeah, did I get hurt a little bit? Yeah. Well, this guy's the sparring instructor and I'm not, so. So it's not really fair.

[Andrew Egger]

Right. Well, and as you get into when this New York Times profile comes out, I mean, it's. It is like a footnote of. A footnote of like a completely different story. Right. It was not like an expose on Dan Bongino that's getting rolled out here. Right.

[Will Sommer]

Well, I was so excited that he announced this story and everyone's waiting for it, because I was thinking, you know, this is going to be the Bongino on the loose story about him just getting, you know, thrown at the walls or whatever by FBI instructors and then suddenly comes out and you, you know, there's got to be some backstory here that's like, really hilarious, but the way it's written, that's, you know, it's like several FBI employees thought Bongino came off the worst for wear or something like that, which is just like the. I have to imagine the Actual situation, perhaps a little more graphic if it made it into the times at all.

[Andrew Egger]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, it's a cool, It's a nice little vignette and I'm glad that Dan Bongino was willing to bring it to our attention. I mean, it's just. And it's the same, it's the same phenomenon, right? I mean, it's like he is in there to be like the MAGA fantasy of like what a real, like based, hard charging, like, take no prisoners, you know, kind of renegade would be in this role and finally deliver us the kind of outcomes we've been looking for. And it's just this fantasy. I mean, it's impossible to live up to for anybody. I mean, like, I'll stick up for Dan Bongino here. I'm very confident he's, he's working as hard to make the infowars people happy much harder than anybody. I would be remotely comfortable in that position. You know, infowars people, eat your heart out. I'm sure he's doing a great job for you guys. You should let, you should lighten up on Dan Bongino a little bit. But this is also like, I mean, it's not just him, right? This is kind of a phenomenon that we've been seeing, I wouldn't say across the Trump administration, but there's been a number of examples. I mean, like you, you recently wrote about how Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Has been getting a lot of blowback from like former hardcore RFK Kennedy Jr. People because he's, I mean, was it chemtrail stuff? Was it vaccine stuff?

[Will Sommer]

It was, yeah. So it's kind of a combination. They're after him for several reasons. One, he hasn't done anything about the chemtrails. These are, of course, the imaginary chemicals sprayed by airplanes. I think comedian, the gentleman in half baked was complaining. You know, he looked up in the sky and he said, you know, rfk, they're spraying spray in Tampa today. You got to rescue us. And then amid this Texas measles outbreak, RFK finally kind of grudgingly says, yeah, your kids should probably get the measles vaccine. And they're saying no.

[Andrew Egger]

Yeah, well, it would be a little less fun for us if, if they were all really happy. So I guess, I guess there's, there's something to be said for the schadenfreude of like, they don't get necessarily their perfect outcomes either. Although if they just stopped and looked around, maybe they'd be a little grateful because they honestly, they Are again that you guys, the Trump administration is working really hard to please you specifically and maybe lighten up on them a little bit. He's making us mad. He's owning us. Focus on that. Focus on how owned we are. You know, give Dan Bongino a little bit of a break or whatever. One last thing. I know you got to, I know you got to run, I guess. Why do you think it is? I'm just, this is just thing I'm batting around in my mind. Why do you think it is that guys like Bongino and RFK like these, these secondary figures, even though they have like humongous amounts of like maga street credit, they get like accountability from the cranks in a way that it seems like, you know, Donald Trump never really does. Trump. Trump is always kind of like hovering above this. Nobody ever kind of comes around demanding that, that he, you know, deliver on, on this or that insane kind of right wing crank world expectation. Is that true? Maybe I'm wrong about that.

[Will Sommer]

No, I think it is true. I think you're right on. I mean, I think it's because Trump's the big dog, right? I mean, he's kind of proven that, that, you know, he can win no matter what. And, you know, people have, have tried to mess with him and they've been destroyed. And so I think as a result it's, you know, the blame will always fall on someone like Dan Bongino or, or, you know, some random or even Pete Hegseth or whoever, but they're never going to be able to really challenge Trump directly.

[Andrew Egger]

Yeah. Yeah. Poor guys. All right, well, thanks, Will. Thanks for coming on to talk about all this. You can read it all and even more that we didn't get around to talking to in his False Flag newsletter out today on the Bulwark.com Ryan Seacrest here.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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