Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino unleashed a blistering critique of legacy media Thursday night, accusing prominent outlets of deliberately downplaying the Trump administrations success in driving down violent crime.
The former federal official, now a prominent conservative commentator, seized on newly released crime statistics showing the average homicide rate fell by 21% across nearly three dozen major U.S. cities in 2025, the steepest one-year decline ever recorded, according to the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ). As reported by the Daily Caller, Bongino previewed the return of his podcast, scheduled for Feb. 2, while using the moment to highlight what he described as the medias refusal to credit President Donald Trumps law-and-order agenda.
These media people, theyre like a full diaper all the time. My daughter just turned 14, so its been about 13 years since I changed any diapers, but thats the media, Bongino said, mocking the press as perpetually soiled and hysterical. Some of the stories, here, let me give you a perfect example. If this doesnt make you laugh, this was just today, perfect timing. I didnt even intend to talk about this.
Turning his fire on specific outlets, Bongino singled out Axios for its framing of the historic drop in homicides. Axios, obviously left-leaning, Axios has this headline about the homicide rate being the lowest since the 1900s, he continued, noting that even when the facts are undeniable, corporate media still strain to shield Trump from any credit.
I was like, Wow, OK. Start reading down the article like, well, Theres a thousand excuses as to why President Trump and his administration didnt do it. Meanwhile, I lived it. I know what we did and didnt do for these dumb asses, right? Bongino said, arguing that those who actually served in law enforcement and in the administration understand the real drivers of the crime decline. For Bongino and many conservatives, the data vindicate a tougher, pro-police posture that liberal commentators spent years deriding.
The Trump administration moved aggressively on crime from day one, with the President issuing an executive order just hours after taking office on Jan. 20, 2025, directing the Department of Justice to pursue the death penalty more vigorously. On Aug. 11, Trump announced a federal takeover of Washington, D.C.s Metropolitan Police Department to confront spiraling crime in the nations capital, a move that followed the brutal assault of Edward Coristine, a Department of Government Efficiency staffer known as Big Balls, who was badly injured while trying to stop a mob-led carjacking.
Bongino also blasted The New York Times for what he portrayed as a brazenly dishonest narrative about public safety under Trump-era leadership at the FBI. Same day, about an hour later, I see a New York Times headline. Kash Patels FBI has made America less safe. Do you dipwads even read your own headlines? Bongino asked, incredulous that the paper could push a less safe storyline amid record declines in violent crime.
Are you that stupid? These are these media morons, people whove never spent a day wearing a badge, never kicked in a door, never arrested some child predator or some bank robber or some gang member. These morons dont know anything about the state, the safety status of the country, he added, contrasting the lived experience of law enforcement with what he views as the insulated ignorance of newsroom elites. His comments reflect a broader conservative frustration with journalists who, in their view, attack police and prosecutors who enforce the law while excusing soft-on-crime policies in Democrat-run cities.
The CCJ report backs up Bonginos broader point that 2025 was markedly safer by multiple measures, not just homicides. Aggravated assaults fell 9%, gun assaults dropped 22%, domestic violence incidents declined 2%, robberies plunged 23%, and carjackings were down a staggering 43% compared to 2024, while drug-related crimes were the only major category to rise, increasing by 7%.
This isnt hard to figure out murder rates all-time low, the countrys less safe. Do these people even hear themselves? They are a big, full diaper, Bongino said, accusing the press of trying to manufacture a sense of crisis for political purposes. Im tired of these idiots. Think about where we are right now in the country. If you listen to the media, you would think the last year was Armageddon.
Bongino argued that, by any rational metric, the country has moved in a more stable direction under Trumps policies, even as liberal commentators cling to a narrative of chaos. Almost zero illegal border crossings, inflation is now relatively contained, GDP growth is projected to hit 5, potentially 6, trade deficits falling down, the murder rates [are] at an all-time low, violent crimes at a near all-time low, he said, listing off economic and security gains that corporate media often minimize or ignore.
I mean, what freaking country are these morons living? What are they looking at? Are they missing this stuff? These are not small items, Bongino added, suggesting that the disconnect between media narratives and measurable reality is not accidental but ideological.
For conservatives, the latest crime statistics and economic indicators reinforce a long-standing belief: when government prioritizes law enforcement, border security, and pro-growth policies, Americans are safer and more prosperous, no matter how loudly the press insists otherwise.
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