He left the FBI to podcast. The premiere didn’t go well.
Dan Bongino’s return to streaming showed how scarred MAGA is by Epstein Files “betrayal.”
Dan Bongino is a weather balloon we can use to check the midterm forecast.
And results are in: He’s caught in Category 5 winds generated by Hurricane Epstein. Bongino teased his return to professional yapping in the weeks following his resignation from the FBI in January, where he served as the bureau’s deputy director. I can’t imagine he expected such an icy welcome.
The show went live on Rumble at 10 a.m. on Feb. 2 and immediately drew over 100,000 concurrent viewers. He conducted one interview (POTUS), hosted for two hours, and called himself the “Podfather” three different times.1 He didn’t say the word that everybody came to hear — “Epstein” — until an hour and 10 minutes in.
I’ll show you below why a lot of words don’t necessarily make a point below. But starting from the top, his focus throughout the stream can be summed up by one phrase he repeated a dozen or so times:
Every single day was some level 10 problem
Everything you do is a level 10 decision
You have shit decisions and shittier decisions — that’s what level 10 decisions are
There’s no level 10 decision you’re gonna make that’s gonna make everybody happy
Nothing like being in the suck like that, when you’re making these level 10 calls
Bongino’s double-edged objective became so clear, so fast: Sell the difficulty of parts of the job he takes credit for, redirect blame for parts of the job he failed at in the eyes of his audience. What this looked like:
😀 — Reading out headlines of FBI accomplishments, arrest statistics from his tenure
😡 — Blaming the media and the bureaucracy for standing in the way of his success
On the half of the FBI “that could not get their heads out of their asses” —
“We came in there with a fresh set of eyes, but there was a downside [...] we did not know every single player in the business and had to figure it out … It’s not an excuse, just an explanation. You guys destroyed the place, and I bet you thought you’d destroy us too.”
The base stood ready to feel empowered and emboldened after having one of their own on the inside, and this was Bongino’s chance to reassure them that things move apace. Here’s the thing though, a person who leaves a job feeling vindicated and satisfied doesn’t usually adopt an angrier, more toxic disposition after they’ve clocked out.
To the media: “You’ve always hated me. I don’t like you guys either. Get your lips and pucker them up and plant a big wet one on my ass.”
To the America First crowd: “I’m here to take back this movement, [it’s] been hijacked by a small group of dipshits and bums and losers.”
To haters in the chat: “I own you guys. You can’t stay away. [...] The greatest superpower in the world is to command attention, and I own yours.”
This strategy worked when Bongino left for Washington — we’ve seen for years that MAGA moves with ease from a defensive posture. One year in, it’s harder to stick it to the man and his henchmen when it’s your man and you are a henchman. And viewers at home wasted no time letting him know just how deep their disappointment ran.
BUONGIORNO, BONGINO?
As someone who’s fielded more than my fair share of nasty comments online, I know the comments people left under the video must’ve stung. Especially considering the vast majority had to do with the topic he only briefly skimmed over in the middle of the show.
While viewers claimed the word “Epstein” was being blocked in the chat, Bongino said three main things on the subject:
“This case had been handled poorly for a long time … almost all of it is public now thanks to President Trump and the team getting it all out there” (not exactly what happened)
The Biden team had done nothing to get the files out, “zero” (some nuance needed here, they never promised to)
When he publicly disagreed with Epstein handling, media made it such a big deal that he was forced to miss out on a Morgan Wallen concert that had been on his schedule for months. Sad!
Bringing this laidback “just trust me bro” energy to a group of people rabid for information about the topic they’ve dedicated years of their lives to uncovering … is such a bad idea. He looked 3M eager viewers in the face and declared that a leader should never “overexplain” themselves and it’s like I could see, in my mind’s eye, keyboards being smashed across the country.
This puts the MAGA base’s crisis of faith on prominent display in the comment section of the #1 most streamed show on Rumble. You just can’t be Lucy with the football on Epstein — these viewers are not Charlie Brown. Their trust is broken and there will be backlash. And Tucker Carlson called it as far back as July 2025:
HOLD THE PHONE
Democrats were about to not care about Bongino’s return at all until Trump … just … blurted this out.
“The Republicans should say, ‘We want to take over. We should take over the voting in at least, many, 15 places. The Republicans oughta nationalize the voting.”
To breathe more life into this “Peanuts” reference, I translated Chuck Schumer’s comments from the usual “wah-wah-wah” to English: “Does Donald Trump need a copy of the Constitution?” Not sure that’s the problem here 🙄
Mike Nellis called Mike Johnson a “mealy-mouthed little bootlicker” in response to one of Mike Johnson’s comments on this. His other comment can be found here.
Jon Stewart will cover it on his pod tomorrow, Feb. 4.
LOOSE ENDS
📰 Something you should read today: Dan Bongino’s comeback show reveals MAGA’s growing divisions — Oliver Bateman Does the Work, Unherd
“Trump offered a bit of backhanded praise that landed somewhere between endorsement and eulogy: ‘I think maybe I’d rather have you where you are [i.e., podcasting] because very few people can do what you do.’”
🕵️ Someone you should know today: I attended a live pod taping the day HIP REPLACEMENT dropped their visual form, guest starring (yes, she’s a star) Willahbennett. The hosts are Gen X Ben Dietz and millennial Kyle Raymond Fitzpatrick and I can’t recommend their show enough for your intake of intuitive + intergenerational interviewing.
🥹 Something to make you smile today: I never expected to showcase my cooking triumphs and travails as much as I have but … shows how much is going on in my life these days, lol. Anyway, I have been working TIRELESSLY for YEARS to get my breading to stick like Gorilla Glue to my chicken cutlets. I’d say we’re 90% of the way there. The comments and my DMs are open for tips but only if you’re an Italian grandmother.
don't be ridiculous everyone knows bill simmons is the podfather
omg THANK YOU for joining our live pod!!!!!!!!!! and for sharing!!!!!