The Dan Bongino Show

Episode: The Looming Threat That Nobody Is Talking About (Ep. 2445)

Date: February 4, 2026
Host: Dan Bongino | Cumulus Podcast Network

Overview

This episode centers on what Bongino describes as urgent, under-discussed threats to American safety—primarily the shadowy online “764 network” exploiting children, the escalating dangers of drone warfare and surveillance (both foreign and domestic), and the ever-present media and political manipulations surrounding border security, law enforcement, and American institutions. Bongino walks listeners through concrete threats, the trade-offs between security and civil liberties, and how media framing distorts reality. The episode is rich in behind-the-scenes FBI experience, critique of media gaslighting, and animated commentary on current policy issues.

New Show Format and Audience Update

[00:02 – 04:30]

• Bongino announces updates: expanded show hours (10am–noon), upcoming guest interviews at 11:30am, and shoutouts to Vince Colonnese (radio fill-in), Graham Allen (Rumble streamer).
• Clarifies the move from radio to podcasting and addresses long-time audience questions.
  • Quote: “People have a lot of interesting things to say. I’m not the only interesting person on planet Earth by far.” (02:30)

James O’Keefe Video and FBI Update

[05:00 – 10:45]

• Bongino briefly discusses Project Veritas’ new undercover video involving an FBI employee’s claims about lack of arrests in Minnesota.
  • Notes the employee has since been fired and that the FBI is, in fact, actively prosecuting crimes in Minnesota.
• Quote: “This is one of those things where, you know, the guy obviously doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” (08:45)

Major Topic: The “764 Network” & Online Child Exploitation

[10:50 – 18:10]

• Segment Focus: Exposes the online threat network known as “764,” which Bongino warns is actively recruiting and harming children online.
• Key Takeaways:
  • The 764 Network targets kids through gaming and chat platforms.
  • FBI’s VCAC (Violent Crimes Against Children) division regularly briefed Bongino during his service.
  • 764 is connected to self-mutilation, animal torture, suicide, and grotesque online grooming.
    • Quote: “It is the most freaking horrifying thing… you can’t unsee it.” (13:52)
  • Parental alert: Watch children’s chat rooms and devices closely.
• Plays a Fox News clip describing 764’s reach: Over 350 subjects under investigation, linked to more than 2,000 child grooming cases, and several child suicides.
• Warns listeners about the civil liberties trade-offs in responding—with greater surveillance raising privacy concerns.
  • Quote [on surveillance]: “We can’t and shouldn’t be surveilling innocent Americans all the time to look for… you need an investigative predicate most of the time.” (17:25)

“Good News” Break: Factories & Border Security

[18:20 – 22:16]

• Factory output is up (highest gains since 2022), signifying economic strength.
• Border enforcement: Illegal migrant “encounters” at the US-Mexico border reportedly at their lowest since 1970.
  • Quote: “It has trickled to zero illegal migrants admitted into the country. Zero, meaning the absence of value.” (21:01)
• Celebrates these as achievements of the Trump administration.

Trump on Border Policy

[18:41 – 20:53]

Trump Quote on Minnesota and Illegal Immigration:
“We want one thing in Minnesota. We can get out of there really fast. We want their prisoners. They’ve got jails with murderers, drug lords, rapists…. So I put out an order. Anybody that does a sanctuary city not getting any money… We have to get them out. And by the way, if Republicans don’t get them out, you will never win another election as a Republican…”
—President Trump, interview segment [18:41 – 20:51]

• Bongino clarifies: Trump’s (and past DHS/FBI) efforts prioritize deporting criminals and violent offenders, not law-abiding immigrants.

Media Manipulation & Gaslighting: Framing the Debate

[22:20 – 38:00]

• Critiques mainstream media for distorting facts about Trump policies; example: the narrative that Trump targets “grandmothers.”
  • Breaks down the “four steps” of media gaslighting: lie, repeat, project confidence, isolate audience from truth.
  • Quote: “They broke the institutions… the media broke institutions by being the firewall against the corruption of all those other institutions.” (34:20)
• Plays and mocks clips of media figures (Philip Bump, Washington Post), exposing their contradictions and refusal to admit to “Russia hoax” errors, Hunter Biden laptop reality, etc.
  • Quote, mocking Bump: “It was a hoax, you moron. Phil…” (35:45)

Reality of Deportations and ICE Operations

[38:00 – 43:00]

• Explains why media narratives misrepresent ICE raids, highlighting that even if non-criminals are swept up, operations target dangerous individuals.
  • “You want the million really bad ones out first. You’ll get the other 19 later.” (43:05)
• Plays coverage of a pro-ICE billboard in San Francisco and the “Karen” reactions:
  • Quote: “I’m very concerned about my neighbors. Dudes. I hate talkers. Do something. Be a doer. D-O-E-R… Remove your ass from the seat.” (40:13)
• Calls out activists who talk but don’t “do,” and criticizes “doomers” and “libs” for inactivity.

Interfering in Law Enforcement & Escalating Rhetoric

[43:00 – 49:50]

• Advises the public never to interfere with a lawful arrest, whatever your political beliefs.
  • Quote: “Can we all agree it is probably not a good idea for you to interfere in a lawful arrest. It’s not a good idea for any reason.” (43:48)
• Criticizes left-wing politicians and media for inflaming rhetoric (e.g., Jerry Nadler’s “justified in shooting" comment [45:54]).
• Plays a series of clips showing anti-ICE, anti-police, and Nazi/fascist comparisons from Delia Ramirez and others.
  • Quote (on Ramirez and others): “You have never seen a group of people kick themselves in the nuts like these two.” (47:08)
• Warns these radical positions incite violence but are politically disastrous for the left.

The Don Lemon Story & Double Standard on Free Speech

[56:20 – 62:00]

• Discusses Don Lemon’s controversial church protest incident.
  • Highlights media’s defense of Lemon under the guise of journalism, ignoring the rights of the church's congregants.
  • Cites Wall Street Journal’s William McGurn: Both freedom of the press and religious freedom require protection—one doesn’t override the other.
    • Quote: “Don Lemon’s constitutional right to report at city’s church isn’t in question… but another part of the First Amendment is implicated here too.” (60:33)
  • Emphasizes Constitutional balancing tests and the need for mutual respect of liberties.

Election Security and the SAVE Act

[62:00 – 68:40]

• Bongino calls the SAVE Act “the single most important piece of legislation moving through Congress and the Senate right now.”
• Explains that voter ID and election security measures enjoy broad bipartisan support—even among minorities (cites CNN polling).
  • Quote (from CNN poll): “Photo ID to vote is not controversial by party and it is not controversial by race. The vast majority of Americans agree…” (66:22)
• Dismisses the claim that such measures are racist as a Democratic frame to resist election integrity.
• Defends Trump’s push for national election standards as non-controversial and consistent with federal elections.

Technology, Drones, Surveillance, and Privacy Threats

[70:00 – 85:00]

• Emerging Security Threats:
  • Undersea cable sabotage, “threats from space, water, the air, the grid, digital, undersea…” (74:20)
  • Most urgent domestic threat: drone warfare and mass surveillance potential.
    • Interdicting drones costs much more than building them; adversaries iterate faster than defense tech can catch up.
    • Quote: “It’s not a matter of if, but a matter of when. When there is an attack over here that resembles what Ukraine did in Russia, it’s only a matter of time.” (77:05)
• FBI building out state/local drone training, but warns about surveillance-state dangers.
  • Demonstrates how police drone response can help—but also raises urgent privacy and civil libertarian risks.
    • Quote: “The technology now is so dangerous that I really do worry. That is, I worry about it as much, if not more sometimes than I do about an attack from a foreign nation.” (84:10)
• Case Study: Savannah Guthrie’s missing mother—explains how FBI supports (but doesn’t take over) local investigations, and how surveillance/tech cross over with civil liberties.

Medical Ethics, Transgender Surgeries, and Litigation Backlash

[86:00 – 91:36]

• Celebrates a Washington Post report: a major medical association now opposes gender transition surgeries on minors.
  • Criticizes hospitals for mutilating children under “scientific” pretenses.
  • Quote: “You want to cut a kid’s nuts off, they’re like that. Cut him off… But the kid’s nine, he doesn’t even know what his nuts do yet.” (88:22)
• Predicts lawsuits by “detransitioners” will stop these procedures as insurance companies bail.
  • Praises the “do no harm” principle and foresees successful litigation as a turning point.

Closing: Audience, Show Format, Guests, and Appreciation

[91:36 – End]

• Restates commitment to truth (“not going to bullshit you”) and welcomes listener feedback, especially on the new guest format.
• Deeply thanks listeners for sticking with him after a year off.
• Promotes upcoming guest lineup for next week, Rumble channel, and other shows on Rumble.

Notable Quotes & Moments

On Child Exploitation Networks

“There is a network of people out there—what they call the 764 network inside the FBI. This group is disgusting. It is horrifying the stuff they do… Listen, I’m not going to describe it, because you’ll throw up. It is the most disgusting thing.”
—Bongino [12:56]

On Surveillance Trade-offs

“Be careful asking for FBI, increased surveillance… We want to be very cautious about that.”
—Bongino [17:16]

On Media Gaslighting

“They broke the institutions by being the firewall against corruption of all those other institutions. And what did the media do? Sat on their fat asses doing absolutely nothing.”
—Bongino [34:20]

On Immigration Reality

“You want the million really bad ones out first. You’ll get the other 19 later. But you want the million out first. But what happens is a lot of these really bad actors hang out with other people who are illegal, who are other bad actors.”
—Bongino [43:05]

On Surveillance Danger

“The technology to surveil and spy on you is there. It is there now. There are no-touch malware programs out there. There’s always going to be a balance between your individual liberties and the surveillance state… This technology is scary. Be very, very careful with calls for more surveillance.”
—Bongino [83:27]

Key Timestamps for Major Segments

• [00:02 – 04:30] Show format and audience update
• [05:00 – 10:45] James O’Keefe/FBI video discussion
• [10:50 – 18:10] 764 child exploitation network exposé
• [18:20 – 22:16] Good news: Economy and border
• [18:41 – 20:53] President Trump border interview
• [22:20 – 38:00] Media manipulation and “gaslighting”
• [38:00 – 43:00] Deportation/ICE operations explained
• [43:00 – 49:50] Interfering in law enforcement/rhetorical escalation
• [56:20 – 62:00] Don Lemon debate: journalism vs. civil liberties
• [62:00 – 68:40] Election security and SAVE Act
• [70:00 – 85:00] Drones, surveillance, and technology threats
• [86:00 – 91:36] Trans medicalization, lawsuits, and the backlash
• [91:36 – End] Closing, audience appreciation, format concluding remarks

Summary Flow

Throughout the episode, Bongino blends direct insider experience, granular policy explanation, colorful rants, and recurring themes:

• There are real, ugly threats largely ignored by the mainstream.
• Civil liberties and security must be balanced, with great caution toward expanded surveillance.
• National debate is being warped by partisan, lying, and incompetent media figures.
• Underneath the noise, Americans continue to win important battles on policy (border, election integrity, medical ethics).
• Bongino doubles down on transparency, audience engagement, and skepticism toward both media and government.

This summary provides a thorough breakdown for listeners who missed the episode, encapsulating both detailed content and the unmistakable tone and language that define The Dan Bongino Show.