Podcaster turned FBI senior official Dan Bongino is facing an uphill battle as he attempts to fix his damaged reputation with his fans after leaving Donald Trump’s administration to become a pundit again.
Bongino, who grew his popularity by trading in far-right conspiracy theories, accepted an appointment from Trump to become the 20th deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which gave rise to a belief that he would be a central figure in releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files. .
That never came to pass as he squabbled with Attorney General Pam Bondi, leading to his exit less than one year after his appointment to return to podcasting.
According to a report from the Washington Post, many of his fans and colleagues on the far-right now consider him damaged goods because he failed them as the Epstein files remain hidden by a foot-dragging Department of Justice.
With Bongino announcing that he will return to his pundit duties on Feb. 2, the Post is reporting his “... return to online content from the halls of real-world power will test conservative audiences’ appetite for a onetime renegade who has become a staunch defender of the administration.”
Fellow ex-FBI agent turned podcaster Kyle Seraphin, who has turned on Bongino, told the Post, “He’s in a really tough spot,” and added, “his reputation is now inextricably tied to the FBI’s reputation under his administration, so he can’t meaningfully criticize it. He’s cornered by his own words and actions.”
Prior to rebooting his podcasting career, Bongino is already taking on flak, with one prominent conservative commenter on X complaining, “People feel conned here. Literally NOTHING has changed.”
According to A.J. Bauer, a journalism professor at the University of Alabama, Bongino is now faced with rebuilding his reputation with disgusted fans.“Part of what Bongino is navigating is how to convey an aesthetic of insurgent outsiderness while also using the associations he has with the state to leverage and build credibility,” he predicted.
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