FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino Hasn't Spoken About His Ethnicity Much Over the Years

Whether you know him from his podcast or the name sounds familiar because he used to be in the Secret Service, there are a lot of questions out there about FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino. After Donald Trump named him as the top pick for the role, questions about Dan Bongino's ethnicity came into play, with many curious about his background.

Although Dan was part of the Secret Service at one point, he is also a former NYPD officer, and he also ran for office multiple times for the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives. He hosts The Dan Bongino Podcast, which focuses on politics and anti-liberal and Republican party-focused content.

While Dan's ability to lead the FBI and his former positions has nothing to do with his race or ethnicity, it hasn't stopped the American people from wondering about his background. Dan reportedly comes from an Italian-American background. Though to be fair, Dan has not spoken out much about his race.

And there are many who were once convinced that Dan is a Black man, given his dark skin tone. At least, according to them.

"Unrelated, but I just learned that Dan Bongino is NOT Black and I'm flabbergasted," one user shared on X (formerly Twitter) in 2023. He accompanied the tweet with a post from Dan's podcast, where Dan spoke about the Black vote and its importance.

When someone shared a post from Trump on X about Dan's new role as the FBI deputy director, he also wrote, "BREAKING: Dan Bongino Becomes the First Black Deputy FBI Director. This is historic."

This resulted in a flood of replies where other users were quick to point out that, as far as they know, Dan is Italian and has not spoken about being a Black man.

Dan has a long history with law enforcement and with politics in general. But his personal life is just as influential with who he is professionally. In 2020, he revealed to his supporters that a tumor was found in his neck in 2019. He underwent surgery and later confirmed that he had Hodgkin lymphoma. In 2024, he shared an update on The Megyn Kelly Show about his health.

So far, it looks like Dan's cancer has not returned. He shared on the show that there are other forms of cancer that he could contract because of the amount of scans he had after he beat his previous cancer diagnosis. But, he added, he now understands that he has to live his life and move forward without the constant fears.

"I've been two clears clean in remission now with this," Dan shared at the time. He also added that he "doesn't worry about it" anymore when it comes to any potential further health scares. The important thing to him now is living his life and doing it all "his way."