I’m not alone in finding the journalist’s performance grating. The first response to the tweet is someone asking, “As a good example or bad example? Attempts to imitate O’Reilly’s baiting & badgering are not journalism.” Another said, it “[s]hould be taught to everybody else as a lesson in why you should never talk to a journalist.”

I’m actually all for political reporters going Beast Mode on those they cover. But Beast Mode can’t just mean obsequious coverage of those politicians the journalists love and smarmy, out-of-control hatred for those they dislike…

Bongino is simply running for the Republican nomination for a House seat, but whether you’re at that level or running for president, the badgering by political journalists is uneven. Either way, in this case, going Beast Mode doesn’t mean being a high-pitched, passive-aggressive, contemptuous jerk. Be aggressive, sure, but be an adult about it. And always stay calm.