Former FBI deputy director Dan Bongino launched into a scathing swipe at the media in his first television interview since leaving President Donald Trump’s administration, saying the press “has been in diapers.”
Former Secret Service agent Bongino officially returned to private life earlier this month after less than a year with the FBI. Following his departure, he announced that he would return to hosting his eponymous podcast in early February, while becoming increasingly candid on social media.
In an interview with Fox News on Thursday night, Bongino accused the media of using a double standard when covering public safety.
Earlier in the day, Axios reported that the U.S. murder rate has reached its lowest level since 1900, citing data from the Council on Criminal Justice. However, the outlet noted that in former President Joe Biden’s final year in office, violent crime had dropped to levels not seen in two years, raising questions about whether Trump’s policies had an impact on the crime decline.
“There are a thousand excuses for why President Trump and his administration didn’t do this,” Bongino told host Sean Hannity. “At the same time, I’ve been there. I know what we did and didn’t do for these fools –“
He then pointed to a New York Times report that published interviews with 45 current and former employees who accused the FBI under Director Kash Patel of making the United States less safe.
“Have you fools even read your own headlines?” Bongino said. “Are you that stupid?”
“These are media idiots — people who have never worn a badge,” he continued. “Never kicked in the door. Never arrested a child predator, bank robber or gang member. These idiots have no clue about the state of security in this country.”
Bongino went on to say the media is a “big diaper,” adding that he’s “tired of these idiots.”
“What the hell country do these idiots live in?” Bongino asked. “I mean, what are they looking at? Are they missing these things? These are not small things. It’s not even — forget — I don’t even get that Maduro steps down, the Cuban leader pees his pants, and we might get parts of Greenland.”
Hannity declared that “the real Dan Bongino is back,” noting that he was more restrained during his time at the FBI.
“We’ve been friends for a long time,” Hannity said. “I kind of like that the real Dan is back, unfiltered.”
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