'You son of a b****! You punk!': Geraldo Rivera lets rip at Dan Bongino during heated debate over policing and BLM protests following death of Daunte Wright
Geraldo Rivera had an extraordinary meltdown during a screaming match with Dan Bongino on Hannity over policing and protests in the wake of the death of Daunte Wright on Wednesday.
During the exchange, Rivera called Bongino a 'son of a b***' and a 'punk' after his fellow guest said that Rivera wanted to see the country burn, Mediate noted.
It was the second time this week that Rivera, 77, and Bongino, 46, appeared on Sean Hannity's show and the two went after each other for their beliefs in the wake of Minnesota police officer Kimberly Potter, 48, fatally shooting Wright, a 20-year-old black man, in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center.
On Monday, Rivera called the shooting 'an act of grotesque negligence' before Bongino, who served as an NYPD officer for just four years in the late 1990s, chimed in to tell his fellow guest that he could not base his experiences of 'going to dinner with a police captain.'
Rivera shot back on Monday, telling Bongino: 'Don't minimize my experience.'
Geraldo Rivera had an extraordinary meltdown during a screaming match with Dan Bongino on Hannity
It was the second time this week that Rivera, 77, and Bongino, 46, appeared on Sean Hannity's show and the two went after each other for their beliefs
Sean Hannity frequently had to remind Rivera, center, to let Bongino, left, talk on the program
Often referred to only by his first name, Rivera is a long-time journalist and conservative political commentator who hosted the tabloid talk show Geraldo from 1987 to 1998. He's known for sensationalist reporting and tendencies toward gonzo journalism, often placing himself into his stories.
Bongino, a radio host and conservative political commentator, has also appeared often on Fox News programming and is reportedly a stakeholder in Parler. He has spread conspiracy theories, including that Barack Obama's administration illegally spied on Donald Trump's 2016 campaign for president.
On Wednesday, Rivera immediately called back to the Monday argument and the 'misrepresentation of my experience by my esteemed colleague Dan Bongino.'
'I have been covering cops for over 50 years. I am perhaps the most deeply experienced reporter in television history. I have done hundreds of stories over thousands of hours with cops,' Rivera said.
He added: 'I have been to too many cop funerals to even think about. They are horrible. I am a total buff when it comes to cops. Cops like me. I like cops.'
Rivera then went in on the shooting of Wright, calling it an 'unintentional' accident but noting that 'involuntary manslaughter doesn't require intent.'
'This was reckless or grossly negligent behavior,' Rivera said, before suggesting that the Taser should be 'the first weapon of choice for a cop' and place it in the dominant hand.
Police are currently required to put their guns on the same side of their body as their dominant hands.
Bongino was then called on by Hannity to respond to Rivera, and said: 'I don't even know how to respond to that. Give me a second to digest the stupidity of that.'
Kimberly Potter, 48, left, was released from the Hennepin County jail at 5.38pm after posting a $100,000 bond after she was charged for the shooting death of Daunte Wright, right
Rivera then jumps in and tells Bongino: 'How about responding with facts?'
'You're nothing but a name-caller! You're a cheap-shot artist!' Rivera said.
Hannity then tells Rivera to let Bongino talk, who laughs before getting in a jab at Rivera for his points that are 'easy to refute.'
'There's a big difference between reporting on a baseball game and playing it, Geraldo. You've never worn a badge, period,' Bongino said.
He continued: 'Not interested in your reporting on it, because reporters deal with facts, and you brought the race card into it the other night when we had this debate, despite having no facts to back that up.'
Demonstrators gather outside of the Brooklyn Center police station on Wednesday in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. This is the fourth day of protests in the suburban Minneapolis city following the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright
Demonstrators gather as the National Guard soldiers look on at the Brooklyn Center police station on Wednesday
Demonstrators gather outside of the Brooklyn Center police station on Sunday while law enforcement lines up on the other side of the fence
Police are seen on one side of the fence while protesters gather on the other outside the Brooklyn Center police station
A law enforcement officer appears to spray some sort of gas at protesters gathered on the other side of barrier outside the police station
The barriers between police officers and protesters appear to be covered in graffiti on Wednesday
A law enforcement officer holds a riot shield as protesters gather on the other side of a fence placed outside the Brooklyn Center police station
A demonstrator holds a Black Lives Matter sign while protesters gathered in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota on Wednesday
Rivera then brought up data showing that 'blacks are twice as likely to be shot by cops as whites' while Bongino appeared disinterested.
'Geraldo knows everything. They did an actual study on police contacts and found no systemic racism,' Bongino responded, referring to an apparent study from the Justice Department Bureau of Justice Statistics.
In January, the agency released a 13-page report that found that 'White and black people were arrested proportionate to their involvement in serious nonfatal violent crime overall and proportionate to their involvement in serious nonfatal violent crime reported to police.'
'I know more than you! What do you know? What, did you have a ten-minute career as a cop? You've been running for office for the last 20 years,' Rivera said.
Bongino shot back: 'Take a Valium. You've really gotta pipe down. My gosh, you're a 70-year-old man!'
He argued on Hannity that Rivera's argument of putting the firearm on the other side of police uniforms then 'you probably would have to cross-draw it.'
'What's the problem with a cross-draw? The problem is when you are tackled to the ground, the weapon is more accessible to the bad guy than it is to you,' Bongino said.
"But because you've never done policing, you've reported on it, you wouldn't know any of that.'
He continued: 'Maybe a little bit of humble pie. Back off. Stop telling everyone about your great reporting. Deal with facts, and realize you don't know what you think you know. You just know what you think you reported on.'
'I don't pretend to be a journalist, I'm an opinion-maker. Stop pretending to be a cop,' said Bongino, who was only a cop himself for four years.
Rivera then responds: 'What Dan Bongino does is make me the issue. Is anything he has just said — is it useful on this topic? We are dealing with tension from coast to coast. Cities where there is now violence and rage.'
He then condemns riots and adds that America needs to 'assure a very restive public that cops aren't out to get them.'
'We have to reassure the black mothers,' Rivera said, before noting that there were '991 cop shootings and deaths last year' - a reference to a recent investigative analysis from the Washington Post.
He added: 'More than two times as many black people per capita, mostly young black men, where killed than white people.'
Hannity then goes on to address large-scale protests in cities across the country, before prompting Bongino to again respond.
Bongino decided to take another shot at Rivera and alleges that the protests are happening 'because of people like Geraldo' who are pushing 'a race narrative with no data to back it up at all.'
'I just gave you the facts. You only accept facts that you agree with,' Rivera said.
Bongino asked: 'If there was a plague of police officers hunting Black men down at night, then — I don't understand, if that's happening, where is the massive body count?'
Rivera shouted: 'This man is why they have that rage. This man with his baloney. This is baloney!'
'He's injecting race into the argument because he has nothing else!' Bongino said, before then accusing Rivera of wanting to 'see the country burn.'
'I want to see the country burn? You son of a b***! I want to see the country burn, you punk? You're nothing but a punk!' Rivera responded.
