Dan Bongino has only been FBI deputy director for a short time, but he’s already complaining about the job.
Bongino, who was a Secret Service agent and peddler of conspiracy theories before President Donald Trump tapped him for his current position, appeared on “Fox & Friends” Thursday to discuss three Biden-era cases the FBI has recently reopened, including an investigation into a bag of cocaine found at the White House in 2023.
However, the part of the interview that is getting the buzz was Bongino’s admission that he isn’t enjoying his new job one bit ― especially the work-life balance, or lack thereof.
“The biggest lifestyle change is family-wise,” Bongino lamented, explaining that he took the civil service job at the president’s behest.
“It was a lot, and it’s been tough on the family. People ask all the time, ‘Do you like it?’ No. I don’t,” he said. “But the president didn’t ask me to do this to like it — nobody likes going into an organization like that and having to make big changes.”
At one point during his Fox News interview, the former podcaster told an anecdote about a woman who said she missed his show.
Bongino said he told the woman, “I miss me too,” and then explained to his interviewers, “Part of you dies when you see this stuff behind the scenes.”
He then griped about how people are treating him and FBI Director Kash Patel, who is having his own on-the-job struggles.
“I don’t know what people think me and Kash [Patel] are doing all day. I mean, I gave up everything for this. I mean, my wife is struggling — and I’m not a victim,” Bongino insisted. “I’m not [former FBI Director James] Comey. It’s fine. I did this, and I’m proud that I did it.”
Although Patel has been accused of not taking the FBI director position seriously, Bongino defended his boss.
“If you think we’re there for tea and crumpets, well, I mean, Kash is there all day,” Bongino stressed. “Our offices are linked. He turns on the faucet, I hear it… He gets in at, like, 6 o’clock in the morning. He doesn’t leave until 7 at night. I’m in there at 7:30 in the morning. He uses the gym. I work out in my apartment.”
Bongino then made a somewhat confusing statement about the current status of his relationship with his wife.
“But I stare at these four walls all day in D.C., by myself, divorced from my wife — not divorced, but I mean separated, divorced — and it’s hard. I mean, we love each other, and it’s hard to be apart.”
Here’s a clip of Bongino’s remarks.
Bongino may have hoped for sympathy from Fox News viewers, but his “apparent self-martyring” (as the Independent described it) didn’t get that reaction from people on social media.