Trump Names Dan Bongino as Deputy Director of the FBI
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Trump Names Dan Bongino as FBI Deputy Director
Above: Dan Bongino attends the 2022 FOX Nation Patriot Awards at Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood on Nov. 17, 2022, in Hollywood, Fla. Image copyright: Jason Koerner/Stringer/Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
The Spin
Republican narrative
Dan Bongino is a patriotic veteran officer who knows the FBI should fight crime and protect America. After years of reporting on the FBI's rapid decay, culminating in the raid of a former president's home for political reasons, he now has the opportunity to rid the agency of its corrupt agents and restore its original mission of fighting real crime.
Democratic narrative
Bongino is the furthest thing from a nonpartisan actor. Not only has he said his "entire life" is "about owning the libs," but he's called for the outright dissolution of the very agency he's been tapped to help run. He's also made a career out of pushing election and COVID conspiracy theories. Bongino is a professional partisan whose far-right beliefs will now become FBI policy.