Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino launched a blistering personal attack against former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) on Tuesday after Gaetz mocked Bongino’s past electoral losses, igniting a public feud between two prominent figures on the political right.
The exchange began after Bongino, who announced his departure from the FBI in December, criticized what he described as bad-faith critics of the Trump administration, labeling them “black-pillers, life-losers, grifters and bums.” Shortly afterward, Gaetz took a swipe at Bongino on X by prompting the platform’s AI tool, Grok, to summarize Bongino’s history of unsuccessful political campaigns.
Bongino, a former Secret Service agent, responded with a sharply worded post that escalated the dispute into a personal confrontation.
“Maybe if I spent more time at shady parties with monied insiders I would’ve won. I heard you’d know a bit about that,” Bongino wrote. “You’ve always been a dick by the way. Grifting off your daddy like a suckling little doggie. When I first met you in the panhandle I knew you were a piece of shit. It’s written all over that phony face of yours.”
Bongino has a history of unsuccessful runs for office. According to Ballotpedia, he lost a 2012 U.S. Senate race in Maryland and later ran unsuccessfully for a House seat in the state. In 2016, after relocating to Florida, he lost a Republican primary for a House seat there. Despite those losses, Bongino later built a large media following and was appointed to a senior role at the FBI before stepping down in late 2025.
Gaetz, who resigned from Congress in 2024, has remained a polarizing figure within conservative media and politics. He was initially nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as attorney general, but withdrew from consideration after allegations of sexual misconduct resurfaced following the release of a House Ethics Committee report. The Biden administration’s Justice Department did not bring criminal charges against Gaetz related to the allegations.
After the Ethics Committee voted to release the report, Gaetz publicly addressed the accusations in a post on X, acknowledging aspects of his past behavior while denying any criminal wrongdoing.
“In my single days, I often sent funds to women I dated – even some I never dated but who asked,” Gaetz wrote. “I NEVER had sexual contact with someone under 18. Any claim that I have would be destroyed in court – which is why no such claim was ever made in court.”
Gaetz added that his 30s involved “playing hard,” calling the behavior embarrassing but not criminal, and said he now lives differently.
In November, One America News Network fired a producer from Gaetz’s show after an antisemitic cartoon generated using artificial intelligence was posted online.
The bitter clash between Bongino and Gaetz underscores ongoing fractures within conservative circles, as prominent figures increasingly turn their fire on one another amid shifting alliances and heightened scrutiny following the 2024 election and the developments of Trump’s second term.
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C’mon guys..can’t we all just get along?
Um…..Come on guys. We have bigger problems than this to deal with. We are all behind Trump so let’s spend our energy getting him supported in the midterms.
Bignino lost because he’s in MD. Almost a guaranteed loss for any republican. I doubt gaetze would have done any better