Dan Bongino Said Leaving Fox News Would Lead To Conspiracy Theories. He Was Right

When Dan Bongino went on his podcast Thursday and told listeners he was leaving Fox News, he said it was simply a matter of failing to reach agreement on a new contract—and nothing more than that. “It’s no big conspiracy, I promise you,” he said. “You’re going to read a thousand left-wing articles about some nonsense, and I’m guaranteeing you on my reputation, it is all made up. It’s a simple contract thing, and that’s it. It is no more complicated than that.”

He was right: the rumors began swirling immediately after Bongino made his announcement. Mainstream media sites like Los Angeles magazine reported that Bongino had been “fired,” despite Bongino’s statement saying it was untrue. Many commenters immediately linked Bongino’s exit to Dominion and a rumored housecleaning at Fox that could involve the firing of several high profile hosts. The Palmer Report tweeted that “to be clear, Fox News has fired Dan Bongino. That one’s real. And perhaps just the start.”

“Dominion truth bomb produces Fox’s first casualty,” was the headline on a post about Bongino at the Washington Press blog, which argued that the $787 million that Fox agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems to settle its defamation lawsuit was directly responsible for Fox parting ways with Bongino. “That’s a big hit to the payroll. And when media companies start bleeding money, the first cuts they make are always to the weakest members of their staff who are a drain on the finances.”

On his podcast Friday, Bongino joked about “the first day of my unemployment,” saying “the liberals said I was fired, I’m unemployed…kind of hysterical watching the reaction.” Fox released a statement Thursday saying “we thank Dan for his contributions and wish him success in his future endeavors.” As for suggestions that Bongino leaving Fox News was linked to the Dominion settlement, a person inside the network familiar with the negotations said Bongino’s exit “was not related to the matter.”

Bongino predicted the conspiracy theories would come from the left, but fans of Bongino on the right were also speculating about why Bongino’s top-rated Saturday night show, Unfiltered with Dan Bongino, which drew 1.179 million viewers last week—had been dropped without warning—a move described as “a stunner to his fans and fans of the top-rated cable giant,” said a post on the Conservative Brief, which noted that “the news comes as speculation, which is unconfirmed, points to two popular hosts possibly getting the axe” in the wake of the Dominion settlement.

“Murdoch thinks firing Bongino will fix Fox News’ image,” one conservative commenter suggested on Twitter. On his “open MAGA mic Friday,” conservative radio host Brian Craig told listeners that despite Bongino said about not being fired, “he’s basically been fired. And I know they’re not saying he’s been fired…but he was fired.” Craig said “Fox News got rid of Bongino because they want to look more fair and balanced” in an effort to attract more viewers. “And that’s why Bongino’s out,” he said.