The 2016 “locker room talk” October Surprise scandal would almost certainly have broken a lesser man than Donald Trump.
Hillary’s oppo-research people thought they had struck gold, only further fueling the campaign’s delusional hubris that was its ultimate undoing. (She didn’t even bother campaigning in the Rust Belt swing states in the closing days of the campaign; her staff was popping champagne on her campaign jet the day of the election.)
One could hardly blame them for thinking they’d found the silver bullet for “Teflon Don.”
Related: Chelsea Clinton Launches Anti-MAHA Podcast
Here, you had a guy saying, on audio, arguably the most uncouth string of words a presidential candidate was ever caught on a hot mic, in terms of relations with the gentler sex.
The problem for them was that they underestimated the appetite the American people had for a fighter.
If Trump had slumped his shoulders, conceded that he’d been a very naughty boy, and muttered the usual carefully crafted quasi-apology written by some PR firm, it’s possible — likely, even — that he might not have recovered.
That’s not what he did, though.
What he did was sit three of Bill Clinton’s rape accusers in the front row at the next debate and point them out right to Hillary’s face.
Even though there were surely warnings about this unorthodox chess move beforehand from the usual suspects in the GOP consultant class, it proved a brilliant tactical move for a voting base whose anger at the establishment and conventionality the conventional establishment did not understand then, and doesn’t even fully understand now.
Related: Hillary Claims ‘Climate Change’ Killed 500,000 Last Year, ‘Particularly Pregnant Women’
Trump rewrote the whole script.
Monkey see, monkey do.
Politicians of all stripes, and anyone politician-adjacent, learned the lesson: going all-in, all the time, with cutthroat aggression at your opponents beats half-hearted, groveling apologies.
With that lesson in mind, Dan Bongino recently resigned from his position as Deputy Director of the FBI.
As expected, he’s setting the table for a return to the podcast circuit.
The problem is he’s got a lot of people — potential listeners, fellow pundits, and maybe even ideologically-oriented advertisers — upset at what they perceive as his lackluster performance at the FBI.
He obviously understands this is going to be an issue. To get the jump on his critics, he’s apparently decided the best way to face the headwinds is to launch the same kind of nuclear assault on his critics that we’ve come to expect from President Trump. In this case, his ire is directed at “black-pillers,” “life-losers,” and “grifters”:
I started in this movement as a candidate during the Tea Party movement, and I began my political commentary career shortly thereafter. I helped build this movement and I sure as hell am not going to let it get hijacked by a group of black-pillers, life-losers, grifters and bums. We are a movement guided by truth. The essence of conservative ideology is the preservation of eternal truths. We are not the “latest thing” group. We are not political cannibals. I’ve watched quietly from the inside while doing the job I was hired to do, but I’m back now, and it’s time to restore balance to the force (that one was for Gui). As we get ready to make some announcements about the future of the show, I also want to warn the haters and the zeroes - we’ve been at this a long time. We live for this stuff. This isn’t our first, second or tenth rodeo. We’ve seen a lot dips***s come and go. We revel in making you angry enough to show your a***s. It’s glorious. We’ve got midterms coming up, and there’s no time for bulls**t. This administration is cooking and REAL change simmers. If you’re spending your entire day bitching and whining with 3/4ths of the term still to go, then please find the exits. There’s no time for it. It’s not “infighting” when you excise a cancer killing the host. It’s “outfighting” because you’re not part of any movement I’m familiar with.
Let me add this, from the jump, so there’s NO confusion. I started in this movement as a candidate during the Tea Party movement, and I began my political commentary career shortly thereafter. I helped build this movement and I sure as hell am not going to let it get hijacked by… https://t.co/kkH9jTXY9M
— Dan Bongino (@dbongino) January 5, 2026
The best defense is a good offense, as they say.
The internet, especially social media, especially X, is a filthy place where anti-social behavior is almost necessary to survive — so much so that calling it “social media” is a misnomer.
There exists no room for grace or humility.
It’s all maximum-offense war, all the time.
All alliances are temporary.
No one is your friend.
The first chance anyone sees to step on your throat for the slightest increase in clout, they’ll jump on it. So why not make the first move?
Honest, public self-reflection on one’s faults really only serves as ammunition for your opponents — so where’s the incentive?
This is the new era of politics fostered by Trumpism, social media dynamics, and unlimited popular rage waiting to be directed somewhere.
It’s a dirty game, folks.
