FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino had people rolling their eyes after he complained in an interview on Fox & Friends that his job has strained his marriage, all the while complaining about how people treat him and FBI Director Kash Patel.
Despite holding one of the top positions in the bureau—one that traditionally goes to a career bureau agent—Bongino brings no prior FBI experience. His law enforcement background includes service in the New York Police Department and over a decade with the Secret Service.
And it appears the pressure may be wearing on him. In what at times resembled a therapy session, Bongino vented that he had “given up everything” to take the job, whining about the personal toll of his controversial appointment:
“I gave up everything for this. I mean, you know, my wife is struggling. I'm not a victim. I'm not [former FBI Director] James Comey. I'm proud I did it but if you think I'm there for tea and crumpets, Kash is there all day. ... He gets in at 6 in the morning. He doesn't leave until 7 at night."
I'm there at 7:30 in the morning. ... I stare at these four walls all day in DC, you know, by myself, divorced from my wife. Not divorced, but I mean, separated. And it's hard. We love each other, but it’s hard to be apart.”
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Hiw words didn't inspire much sympathy—and the mockery was swift.
Bongino, is completely unqualified given he's best known as a conservative commentator who fervently supports President Donald Trump.
He has amassed a sizable following—even as platforms like YouTube banned him for spreading misinformation. He hostedThe Dan Bongino Show, a nationally syndicated radio program and daily podcast that ranked as the seventh most popular podcast in the U.S. as of January.
Bongino’s prominence surged during Trump’s first term, fueled by the rapid growth of his podcast. In 2018, he briefly hosted a program on NRATV, the National Rifle Association’s now-defunct web TV channel.
The following year, he launched the Bongino Report, a pro-Trump news aggregator modeled after the Drudge Report, and also officially joined Fox News as a contributor.
Not exactly someone who should be playing a key role in domestic and international operations for the FBI.