Dog the Bounty Hunter Is Now a MAGA Keynote Speaker

Summary

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The Bulwark Podcast

Episode: Dog the Bounty Hunter Is Now a MAGA Keynote Speaker
Date: July 1, 2026
Host: The Bulwark
Guest: Will Sommer (False Flag newsletter)

Episode Overview

This episode explores the increasingly surreal and chaotic landscape of American right-wing politics in 2026. The hosts, joined by journalist Will Sommer, dissect the realities of the Great American State Fair, the parallel rise of eccentric right-wing influencers, and the symbolic elevation of figures like Dog the Bounty Hunter to MAGA keynote status. With humor and disbelief, the conversation exposes the bizarre undercurrents now dominating Republican events, the current crop of fringe political candidates, and the broader implications for American political culture.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Will Sommer’s Deep Dive into Right-Wing Subcultures

• Will Sommer is introduced as a journalist embedded in the MAGA media ecosystem, monitoring TikToks, livestreams, and the weirder corners of right-wing internet culture.
  • Quote:

    “He wakes up in the morning, he feeds his children breakfast, and then he watches TikToks of MAGA influencers and consumes livestreams from masturbating Uncle Sams...” — (A, 00:09)

• Will corrects a misconception about Nixon nostalgia among young conservatives, explaining the odd internet phenomenon of “Nixon is baby girl” memes set to Charli XCX tracks.
  • Quote:

    “There is actually a vibrant community of young Republican men who love Nixon memes. They call him Nixon. They say he's baby girl. And they post like Charlie XCX edits...” — (C, 00:35)

2. The Great American State Fair: A Dreary Symbol

• Sommer describes his firsthand visit to the Great American State Fair in D.C. as bleak, with lackluster displays and poor-quality food.
  • Quote:

  “I was there and I was like, why did I do this? This is a total waste of time. Each state has its own little room... most of them are like, they just say the name of the state.” — (C, 01:46)

• Colorado’s “stationary kayak” was one of the highlights, which says a lot about the fair’s mediocrity.
• The food hall was notably dismal, with hosts making fun of the “Costco haul” and “worse than a minor league baseball game” quality.
  • Quote:

    “It looked like they went to Costco and they bought a bunch of food... just really sad. It's like, we got one pizza, okay, and we got a hot dog.” — (C, 03:08)

• Even the Ferris wheel broke down with attendees trapped for an hour, adding to the carnival of dysfunction.
  • Quote:

    “I mean, they do have a Ferris wheel, right? That's cool. Unfortunately, it did break down and people were trapped on it for an hour.” — (C, 03:47)

• Security feels heavy-handed, with a robot voice instructing people to keep moving at the Reflecting Pool.
  • Quote:

    “Now they have the voice that says, keep moving. Don't loiter at the reflecting pool... It's like an armed camp down there.” — (C, 04:06, 04:23)

3. Depressing, Absurd Performances and Scandals

• The group discusses the infamous incident where a MAGA live streamer dressed as Uncle Sam was arrested for public indecency amid a sparse audience.
  • Quote:

    “There was a man dressed as Uncle Sam who was arrested, you know, giving himself kind of a special treat. Right. As it were.” — (C, 04:43)

• Will notes that many public events are poorly attended and that flimsy excuses like "rain cancellations" are used, even for minor weather, as a cover for lack of turnout.

4. Freedom Fest: The Rival Far-Right Gathering

• The conversation shifts to “Freedom Fest” in Castle Rock, Colorado, described as a gathering of fringe right-wing celebrities and conspiracy theorists.
  • Notable guests include Lara Logan, Greg Gutfeld, and Nick Shirley.
  • The keynote speaker: Dog the Bounty Hunter—highlighted for its absurdity.
    • Quote:

      “Then the keynote speaker, it's Dog the Bounty Hunter. Who else is it going to be?” — (C, 06:38–07:07)

  • Colorado's disgraced election official Tina Peters also made an appearance but had little to say—her presence alone drew applause for her notoriety.
  • Will describes Dog’s speech as surprisingly competent, noting Dog’s claim that he’s haunted by his late wife and is in a feud with his nephew over rival bounty hunting businesses.
    • Quote:

      “He claims he's being haunted by his late wife because he found love again... he's feuding with his nephew, who has a rival bounty hunting business.” — (C, 08:14)

5. Victor Marks: Poster Child for MAGA Candidate Weirdness

• Discussion turns to Colorado’s leading Republican gubernatorial candidate, Victor Marks.
  • Marks claims to have murdered a man at age seven but refuses to give details, adding to his self-mythology as "the world's most dangerous man" or "the dangerous gentleman."
  • He performs “phone exorcisms” and claims to have “rescued thousands of people in a dozen countries” without specifics.
    • Quote:

      “He claims that he murdered a man when he was seven years old...I'm going to have to keep that quiet. He's had all these other weird, like, claims.” — (C, 09:15) “He does, I think, some phone exorcisms...nowadays you can do it over zoom or like a phone.” — (C, 10:25)

  • The hosts compare him to previous fringe candidates (like the one warned about litter boxes for kids identifying as cats), then note that these candidates now get less press because such extremism is normalized in GOP primaries.

6. Wider Landscape of Right-Wing Candidate Extremism

• The episode catalogs other bizarre or scandalous GOP candidates across the country, indicating that fringe is the new normal:
  • Mike Collins in Georgia, linked to racist incidents
  • A gubernatorial candidate in Iowa involved in the “conquering empire” sex toy business
  • General pattern: weirdness and extremism have become descriptors, not disqualifiers, in Republican primaries.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (w/ Timestamps)

• "There is actually a vibrant community of young Republican men who love Nixon memes. They call him Nixon. They say he's baby girl." — Will Sommer (C), 00:35
• “I was there and I was like, why did I do this? This is a total waste of time.” — Will Sommer (C), 01:46
• “The food...looked like they went to Costco and they bought a bunch of food...it's just really sad.” — Will Sommer (C), 03:08
• "Now they have the voice that says, keep moving. Don't loiter at the reflecting pool." — Will Sommer (C), 04:06
• “There was a man dressed as Uncle Sam who was arrested, you know, giving himself kind of a special treat.” — Will Sommer (C), 04:43
• "Then the keynote speaker, it's Dog the Bounty Hunter. Who else is it going to be?" — Will Sommer (C), 07:07
• "He claims that he murdered a man when he was seven years old." — Will Sommer (C), 09:15
• "He does, I think, some phone exorcisms..." — Will Sommer (C), 10:25

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Topical Segments & Timestamps

• 00:00–02:25: Will Sommer’s MAGA beat and bizarre Nixon online fandom
• 02:25–05:07: The Great American State Fair: disappointing food, boring displays, unnecessary security, and the infamous “Uncle Sam incident”
• 06:38–08:28: Colorado’s “Freedom Fest” and Dog the Bounty Hunter as keynote speaker
• 08:28–10:46: Victor Marks’ candidacy in Colorado and the normalization of bizarre GOP candidates
• 10:46–End: Rundown of other outlandish Republican candidates and trends in the 2026 election cycle

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Summary

With their signature irreverence, The Bulwark team and Will Sommer offer listeners a hilarious yet sobering glimpse into the fever swamp that is the 2026 right-wing political scene. The elevation of reality TV figures, conspiracy theorists, and fabulists signals a continuing escalation in the stakes—and the absurdity—of the country’s political discourse.

Whether it’s Dog the Bounty Hunter delivering keynote speeches at Republican rallies, a candidate bragging about childhood murder and exorcisms, or the limp spectacle of the Great American State Fair, this episode delivers a mix of gallows humor and critical analysis for anyone following the trajectory of MAGA America.

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Transcript

[A]

All right, Will Sommer, False Flag newsletter. You write. Do you guys know Will Sommer? Some people don't. For those that don't, guys, Will's a

[B]

big star for us now.

[A]

Mick's bag. Will Sommer monitors the maga, right? He wakes up in the morning, he feeds his children breakfast, and then he watches TikToks of MAGA influencers and consumes livestreams from masturbating Uncle Sam's and then watches Candace Owens show. It's quite the life. Sarah, I hope you're paying him well enough. Is that, Is that right, Will? Is that the gist?

[C]

Well, and to that point, Tim, I just like to correct you on the Nixon thing. There is actually a vibrant community of young Republican men who love Nixon memes. They call him Nixon. They say he's baby girl. And they post like Charlie XCX edits to him going like, you know this. I'm not a crook.

[A]

There is a community, a subculture of right wing groipers, young youth that post Richard Nixon videos under Charli XCX songs.

[C]

Yeah, that's right. Now look.

[A]

And they call him baby girl.

[C]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

Really? Are you making this?

[B]

You've seen people who call Trump daddy.

[C]

Yeah, well, there's something to that. But no, this is real. This isn't something I was just cooked up backstage. But when you were like, oh, you know, it also suggests that JD Vance is plugged into like some really deep worlds online, right?

[A]

Which Charlie Xeon? Is it like from Bratz or is it like Deep Cuts?

[C]

I think it's Brat.

[A]

Brat. This is why we've hired Will for the Bulwark. Because as much as the best as I do to follow the right wing world, there's just stuff happening. It's like an onion. They're just layers upon layers. Will, I wanted to ask you first about the Great American State Fair. You were there, you were on site. What's the vibes?

[C]

Yeah, so I went on Friday. I got to go to these things because people are saying online, oh, the food sucks. Whatever. Well, I got to go to all the food halls. I got to see. Maybe it's good, maybe it's cool. It's not. It really sucks, I'll say that. I mean, I was there and I was like, why did I do this? This is a total waste of time. So, you know, each state has its own little room and most of them are like, they just say the name of the state. I will say Colorado had one of the better ones. You can sit in a. You can wait in line to sit in a kayak. You can probably do that without going to the station, obviously.

[A]

Did they offer weed gummies?

[B]

I'm sorry, Wait, hold on. Just like a stationary kayak.

[C]

Yeah, that's right.

[A]

And that was one of the better ones.

[C]

You could do that. Like an REI, perhaps. But you know, in this case. And that was one of the better ones. Yeah, because, you know, some states didn't participate. So the experience is just going into a room and then all these, like, tourists go, like, huh. Why is this so boring? You know, they go, I know, I know. And then they have the sponsors. And so it's like true social, I think the Heritage foundation, you know, all these like real right wing organizations as well. And so you can like, you can dress up like a founding father.

[A]

So did you make it down to the state fair? Bring your kids?

[B]

Absolutely not.

[A]

What? That's kind of sad. That's the type of thing you really would have been at. You would have had your two boys there. You like a fair? You like America?

[B]

I love America.

[A]

You like the Declaration of Independence?

[B]

I also like corn dogs and all. Chicken corn soup and the things they. Normal. Did they have anything like that at the fair?

[C]

Well, yeah. Let's speak on the food situation. So they had. No, no, it was really bad. It looked like they went to Costco and they bought a bunch of food. Now, to be clear, not the prepared food at Costco. Everyone loves the hot dogs or whatever. No, this is like they went and we're just like, I need a huge bag of tortilla chips, you know? And so Steve or Pete Doocy on Fox News, he got up and he's like, people said this fair is a bust, but look, we got some food and they hold it up and it's just really sad. It's like, we got one pizza, okay, and we got a hot dog. I mean, it looks like worse than, like a. Like a. Like a minor league baseball game or something like that. I mean, it's really rubbed out.

[B]

Like a 7 11.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[B]

Like, it was just like spinning. It had been in there for two weeks and you were just getting to the taquitos or.

[C]

Exactly. And you know, to the. Is it like a regular fair? I mean, they do have a Ferris wheel, right? That's cool. Unfortunately, it did break down and people were trapped on it for an hour. So, you know, vandals, Vandals. They struck again.

[A]

Did you check in on the reflecting pool while you were down there? Any ducks, live or dead?

[C]

Well, you know, now they have the voice that says, keep moving. Don't loiter at the reflecting pool. Have you seen that?

[A]

They do.

[C]

It's like a robot and kind of

[A]

like the airport where it's, you know, the moving walkway is coming to an

[B]

end and it's like yelling at the National Guard. That's, you know, they're doing the perimeter to keep bad people away.

[C]

Yeah, it's like an armed camp down there. I'm sure y' all saw the videos. It's like people, like, touch the water and then they're like, hey, prove your hands dry. You know. It's crazy, huh?

[A]

It is kind of a sad reflection on the state of America, the 250, you know, great American State Fair. Do you see any parallels between what was happening on the mall and what's happening?

[C]

Well, I mean, I do, and you kind of broke the seal on bringing this up. And just, I mean, there was a man dressed as Uncle Sam who was arrested, you know, giving himself kind of a special treat. Right. As it were.

[A]

And he was just playing a little pocket pool.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

At the acrobatics.

[C]

And this is kind of like a minor maga live streamer. And I think that metaphor certainly, like, kind of sums up the moment. You know, it was pretty depressing to me overall.

[B]

I have a question about this. I have not been participating in this content for a variety of reasons, but now I have some logistical questions about this.

[A]

Yeah, he's in overalls. I had a couple of follow ups on this as well. He's in overalls. Yeah.

[B]

So he was inside his own overalls.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But here's my other question. Like, so you're saying this was a sad affair. Like, it's not good. So, like, what's he reacting to?

[A]

Oh, boy, Great question.

[C]

So, yeah, so they have some circus performers and so there were some acrobats or what have you. And yeah, I mean, that's what it

[A]

was, the female acrobats.

[C]

But, you know, I mean, also to the point about the performances, I mean, there's like three or four people watching each of these things. I mean, there's really very few people a few nights ago.

[B]

So what, they like, put a quarter in and they stand in front of a booth and just go after the performance. What's. So I keep forgetting we're in Aspen at the Ideas Festival and not a regular show.

[A]

It's the night show.

[C]

One thing to point out about these, you know, because there's so few people. I think there's been a lot of, like, fake rain cancellations. There's like a light drizzle in D.C. and they go, oh, my gosh, you know, we're gonna have to. We can't do Vanilla Ice tonight. And I think it's vanilla. I kind of peeking out. And he goes, I'm not getting out there.

[A]

Yeah, there's a. We have a competitor event to this in Colorado. Did you guys know that there's another ideas festival of sorts happening? And I thought, will, it seems like nobody's aware of that. So I thought it might be useful to kind of get everybody a sense of what the scene is like.

[C]

I'm grateful y' all came to the Ideas Fest because there is like a rival event in Castle Rock, Colorado called Freedom Fest. And now this is a pretty sordid group of people, right? You've got Lara Logan, big conspiracy theorists. You've got Nick Shirley, the guy kind of terrorizing Somalis in Minnesota. You've got Greg Gutfeld from Fox News. He's kind of one of the nicer ones in that crew, I guess. Oh, you have the Secretary of Energy. Okay, that's a little odd. But then the keynote speaker, it's Dog the Bounty Hunter. Who else is it going to be?

[A]

Dog the Bounty Hunter is the keynote.

[C]

Yes, keynote. And also Colorado's own Tina Peters as well. So it was quite a gathering.

[A]

We're not going to fight about this again, Sarah.

[B]

I have some follow ups. Tina Peters.

[A]

I did promise a fight. Go ahead, just do it. For people who don't know I was in favor of the Tina Peters pardon. I'm sorry, you can throw fruit at me if you want.

[B]

I know Tara's always right, but is Tina Peters, Is she doing a contrition tour? Is that what she's there speaking about, talking about how she was wrong and she's sorry. Thanks for the pardon.

[C]

You know, it's funny, I feel like she's not much of a speaker. She kind of stands up and then everyone just goes like, yeah, you know, she got out of prison. They're really excited about it.

[B]

And so she doesn't say anything. She just gets her. She gets her overture for. For trying to hack a bunch of voting machines.

[C]

Yeah, they applaud, they love it. I mean, I watched a couple of the speeches. Dog was actually one of the better ones, I felt. Really, you know, he's been.

[B]

Did they get him there by saying there was like a bounty at the podium or like, what did

[C]

you know? He's been up to some interesting stuff. He claims he's being haunted by his late wife because he Found love again with a new woman. He said a ghost has come back. Essentially, he's feuding with his nephew, who has a rival bounty hunting business. So there's been a lot going on with him.

[A]

Speaking of the haunting, we didn't prep for this, but we'll see how good your memory is. We have talked about the leading Republican candidate for governor in Colorado, Victor Marks. And I want to talk about this because we did, in segment one, we did a little DSA talk. And there is. There's some pearl clutching out there about some of the pretty bad takes, if we're gonna be honest, of some of the DSA candidates in New York, and there are a couple crazy dumps. I feel like people are a little bored with the crazy Republican candidates. You know, they're not getting the attention anymore. Like, there was a lot of attention on Kerry Lake. It's like, oh, another one. You know, we have another one that doesn't believe elections are real. Victor Marks, who is the leading candidate for Colorado governor, is really kind of pushing the boundaries of MAGA Republicanism and will maybe share with the out of staters what's happening here in Colorado.

[C]

I mean, I do have to thank Colorado because Victor Marks is like a true, like, contribution to the national discourse. So this is a guy, you know, he claims that he murdered a man when he was seven years old. He was kind of asked for any proof of that. He's like, look, I don't want to get into it how many other people he's murdered. You know, I'm going to have to keep that quiet. He's had all of these other weird, like, claims.

[B]

I'm sorry, just real quick. So this is, he's. This is, this is part of his, like, you should vote for me. I killed a man when I was seven. Not.

[A]

It's kind of like when Corey Lewandowski

[B]

got the elbow on him. That's the pitch.

[A]

Yeah. Remember when Corey Lewandowski was at the addiction awareness fundraiser at the Benihana in Las Vegas and he started hitting on a woman who was married and he told her that he had stabbed people in the past?

[B]

I do remember.

[A]

It's kind of like that. Yeah, it's kind of like a pickup move.

[C]

So I think he calls himself, like, the world's most dangerous man or something along those lines. Oh, no, I think he calls himself the dangerous gentleman, which is even better. And he deals like a kind of quick disarm move. Like he'll go on a podcast and be like, here's a gun, you know, it goes, oh, got it back.

[A]

So didn't he also. He did something in the netherworld as well, though, also. Right. Doesn't he do. Doesn't he takes the demons out of people? Doesn't he do some of that?

[C]

Yeah, he does, I think some phone exorcisms, like, he'll.

[A]

He'll do.

[C]

You know, it's not like in the Exorcist right now nowadays you can do it over zoom or like a phone, I guess. And so he kind of doesn't get into it too much. I explain it. He also claims he's like, rescued, I think thousands of people in like a dozen countries. And when he was asked, like, okay, so like, you know, name one country, and he's like, oh, my gosh, I can't even remember, you know, who.

[A]

Uzbekistan.

[C]

Who's to say?

[A]

Yeah, the last Colorado governor candidate was the one who was really concerned about the kids pooping in the litter boxes. In the school. Yeah, in the school. They weren't using the bathroom because they're identifying as cats. Cats. It was kind of like they, you know, kind of they them. But. But meow. And so that was kind of one of her key planks. She lost to Jared Polis. And I don't. It doesn't seem like things are going to go well for Victor Marx. And it's a representative example. I mean, you guys talked about this a little bit with Jeff Lake and the Arizona situation, but like, the Republican nominee list around the country this year, not that impressive. You know, you got Mike Collins in Georgia. He was the one that posted the video of the Ole Miss kids making monkey sounds at the black woman. You know, you've got the guy in Iowa, the cock ring person that you like to talk about.

[B]

That I like to talk about. Yeah, I bring that up.

[A]

He made a big investment in a conquering empire and he lives in Kansas. He's the Iowa governor candidate. I mean, like, there's a lot of craziness happening out there in those primaries. I'm just. I don't know. What do you. Do you assess any.

[B]

Do you guys know who Kyle Clark is? Yeah, right. He's a. He's a local news guy out here. So I had him on the pod for. For focus group pod. And we were doing the. The Senate and gubernatorial races out here. And I was mesmerized. I didn't know who this guy was. But he's a. He's a local person who. He. He hosts the debates out here. He's. But he's the one who's like he said to this.