5 Craziest Moments From Dan Bongino, Trump’s New Deputy FBI Director

President Donald Trump shocked the nation once again on Sunday when he announced the appointment of Dan Bongino, one of his most infamous and aggressive boosters in the media, to the role of FBI deputy director.

Bongino, who served as a member of the Secret Service before he gained notoriety as a pro-Trump podcaster and regular on Fox News, will report directly to recently-confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi. Prior to Sunday’s announcement, Bongino was rumored to be in consideration to lead the U.S. Secret Service.

Over the last few years, Bongino has established himself as one of the more fiery voices in far-right media. He’s lashed out at critics — including the staff of Mediaite — thrown down with those who oppose Trump on the air of Fox News, and even called up reporters to level profanity-laced tirades at them. At one point, it was reported he was banned from a show on Fox News because he became “unglued” behind the scenes.

Here are just a few of his wildest moments.

1. Bongino Makes Geraldo Rivera So Angry He Turned His Back to Him During a Live Segment

During his years as a regular guest and even host at Fox News, Bongino routinely clashed with Geraldo Rivera. Whenever the pair were scheduled to appear in a segment it was essentially a guarantee that a shouting match would ensue.

The May 19, 2021 episode of Hannity was no exception. Hours prior, Rivera said on the network that the U.S. was complicit in an “ongoing crime against humanity” in Gaza. During a back-and-forth between host Sean Hannity and Rivera, Bongino interjected to accuse Rivera of playing to emotion and spreading misinformation. Rivera fired back by calling Bongino a “punk” and told him to “stop attacking” him. When Bongino responded, Rivera threw a crumpled up piece of paper at the camera and then turned his back to it.

2. A BLM Activist Walks Out After Bongino Called Him a Coward

Rivera wasn’t the only one who chose to simply stop engaging with Bongino in the middle of a heated clash. On a November 2021 episode of his Fox News show Unfiltered, Bongino interviewed Hawk Newsome — co-founder of the New York chapter of Black Lives Matter — to talk about his criticism of Mayor Eric Adams.

The two men already disagreed on Adams’ stances on policing, but the conversation really spiraled out of control when Bongino pivoted to the protests against police brutality that eventually turned violent or destructive. Newsome claimed he neither condemned nor condoned the violence, prompting Bongino to accuse him of evading the question and calling him a coward. In response, Newsome called Bongino a coward.

This went on for some time until Newsome cut the interview short and accused Bongino of trying to “bait” him.

3. Bongino Calls Mediaite “Total A**holes” at CPAC

Bongino was also no stranger to directing his anger at the press. In addition to suing sites like The Daily Beast for defamation, Bongino regularly attacked Mediaite for its coverage of his commentary.

In February 2020, then-Mediaite reporter Zachary Petrizzo bumped into Bongino at the Conservative Political Action Conference. When Petrizzo introduced himself to Bongino, the commentator said, “Sorry, you guys are total assholes to me.” Petrizzo was then subjected to a barrage of insults from Bongino, who called Mediaite’s writers “total douchebags.” He also called Mediaite editor in chief Aidan McLaughlin “a dick.”

4. Bongino Calls a Politico Reporter a “Piece of Sh*t”

Before Bongino became media figure we know today, he launched several unsuccessful runs for Congress as a Republican. Even back then, however, he still had a habit of hurling insults at reporters.

Back in 2016, when Bongino was running for office in Florida, he criticized a report about most of his primary donations coming from outside his district. Politico reporter Marc Caputo challenged Bongino to point out the inaccuracies on Twitter, prompting a back-and-forth on the social media platform. Bongino then agreed to a phone interview with Caputo — which Caputo made clear he would be recording. During this call, Bongino told Caputo to “go fuck yourself” and called him a “disgusting piece of shit.” A clearly amused Caputo simply laughed during the rant, to which Bongino responded with, “Go fuck yourself,” multiple times.

5. Bongino Goes to War With His Radio Show’s Parent Company Over Vaccine Mandate

Not even Bongino’s employers were safe from his wrath. In October 2021, Cumulus Media — which syndicates The Dan Bongino Show — announced a company-wide vaccinate mandate in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Although Bongino was vaccinated against the virus, he called the mandate “stupid” and “immoral.” In the Oct. 18 episode of his show, Bongino revealed that he gave Cumulus an ultimatum: nix the mandate or he walks away from the show.

The stalemate between Bongino and Cumulus persisted for months, and his own vaccination status reportedly cast doubt on the sincerity of his threat. Bongino previously claimed he got “some concessions” out of Cumulus as a result.

As of last week, Bongino was still hosting the show. His recent FBI appointment, however, marks the official end of it — as well as, for now, Bongino’s long career as a rage-monger.