Dan John Bongino has had a varied career across professions. He has been an American conservative political commentator, author, radio show host, and former law enforcement officer.
He began his law enforcement career in 1995 with the New York City Police Department. In 1999, Dan became a US Secret Service agent. He joined the Presidential Protective Division during the time of President Bush and remained on protective duty with President Obama until 2011. Dan also ran for Congress as a Republican three times but was defeated in each attempt.
He is the former host of "Unfiltered with Dan Bongino" on Fox News and currently hosts the "The Dan Bongino Show" on Rumble.
Early Life
Dan Bongino was born on December 4, 1974, in Queens, New York City. He studied at the private Catholic all-male high school, Archbishop Molloy, in Jamaica, Queens. He pursued his bachelors and masters in psychology from the Queens College, and attended Pennsylvania State University to attain a Master of Business Administration.
Career
New York City Police Department
Between 1995 and 1999, Dan worked for the New York City Police Department as a police officer.
United States Secret Service
In 1999, Dan started as a special agent of the United States Secret Service. Three years later, he became an instructor at the Secret Service Training Academy in Maryland.
In 2006, he was transferred to the Presidential Protection Division during President Bush's second term. He continued on protective duty during Obama's term and left the Secret Service in 2011 to run for the US Senate.
Writing
During his time with the Secret Service, Dan also published several books where he shared his experiences serving the United States Secret Service.
In 2013, Dan published a memoir, Life Inside the Bubble, sharing his experiences with the Secret Service and political campaign. The book covered many events of his life, including experiences of protecting George Bush and Barack Obama, starting a campaign for the US Senate, and investigating federal crimes.
Besides Life Inside the Bubble, Dan Bongino wrote several other books, including Spygate, The Fight, and The Gift of Failure.
Political Campaign
2012 U.S Senate Election
After a long career in the Secret Service, Dan started his political career in 2012 when he ran for the US Senate in Maryland. Brian Murphy was his campaign chairman and won the Republican primary with 33.8% of the vote, defeating all other candidates. However, he lost the general election, only taking 26% of the vote against Democrat Ben Cardin.
2014 House of Representatives Election
Two years after his landslide defeat in the US Senate Elections, Dan decided to run for the U.S. House of Representative seat from Maryland's 6th Congressional District during the 2014 election against Democrat John Delaney.
Dan Bongino - an American conservative political commentator, author, radio show host, and former law enforcement officer
Unfortunately, Dan lost to Delaney by 1.5 percentage points after having a 20,500-vote deficit in the district's share of Montgomery County. Nonetheless, Dan managed to carry four of the district's five counties.
2016 House of Representatives Election
In 2015, Dan moved to Florida and planned on running for the United States Senate and Florida's 18th Congressional District during the 2016 election. However, he decided that he would seek the Republican nomination for Florida's 19th Congressional District.
Dan faced Chauncey Goss and Francis Rooney in the primary. He placed third in the August 2016 primary, losing the nomination to Francis Rooney.
Controversies and Criticisms
During his political run, Dan faced several controversies and criticisms, which did not help his campaign.
For one, Dan was heavily criticized by former colleagues for using his stint with the Secret Service as part of his political campaign. Many agents were not pleased by Dan's claims of having secret information based on things he heard in the White House.
One of his colleagues even said that Dan was exaggerating his importance in the presidential detail and denied claims that they sit in high-level meetings at the White House.
In 2016, Dan had a viral phone interview with Politico's Marc Caputo where things got heated.
Association with Media
Dan's media presence spans spans across radio, television, and even online platforms.
Radio & Fox News
Dan earned a recognition by being a great commentator for radio programs, often serving as guest host for shows like Mark Levin's and Sean Hannity's. His commentary and contributions to these platforms earned him a reputation of being a conservative voice in the radio landscape.
Besides his radio appearances, Dan was also a regular contributor to Fox News' opinion programming, where he analyzed various political and social issues. He even appeared as a guest-host for Hannity's show on Fox News in December 2018.
Currently, Dan is hosting the "The Dan Bongino Show," a daily podcast where he tackles various political issues.
The Dan Bongino Show
In addition, Dan recently hosted former President Donald Trump on his show, tackling topics like social media censorship of his account, his election chances, and calls from the leftists for a street fight.
Online Presence, Growth, and Setbacks
Dan also delved into online media by launching the Bongino Report, an alternative to Drudge Report. Before the launch of his site, he criticized Drudge Report's founder, Matt Drudge, for allegedly abandoning Trump supporters.
Despite his influence, Dan faced criticism. Although his Facebook posts were shared, they were labeled by The New York Times as "spreading misinformation." Dan's Twitter account was temporarily suspended after the Capitol riots.
He was also permanently banned from YouTube for violating policies but was signed by Cumulus Media to replace Rush Limbaugh.
Personal Life
Apart from controversies, politics, and the spotlight, Dan is is happily married to Paula Andrea. They have two daughters, Isabel and Amelia Bongino. Before relocating to Palm City, Florida in 2015, they lived in Severna Park Maryland.
Dan Bongino with wife Paula Andrea Bongino
He and his wife started various businesses in 2012, selling martial arts gears, security and risk management consultancy, and designing websites. His current net worth is estimated to be $150 million.
Cancer Diagnosis
Bongino was diagnosed with a 7 cm tumor in his throat in September 2020. Initially, he wasn't sure if the tumor was cancerous but received a call from his doctors on October 2, confirming that the tumor was cancerous.
He underwent surgery on October 7, where the entire tumor was removed from his neck. Before the surgery, he received a call from President Donald Trump and believes it to be divine intervention.
Dan Bongino and his wife Paula at a dinner with President Donald Trump in New Jersey
However, he also disclosed that he likely had lymphoma. This was confirmed on October 16 by his doctors and his medication continued.
In 2021, Bongino announced that he had beaten cancer. Following his battle with cancer, Bongino stated that the journey gave him a new perspective on life and to make the most of every moment.