section_path: Media career/Conflict over COVID-19 vaccine mandates
section_name: Conflict over COVID-19 vaccine mandates
paragraph_text: Conflict over COVID-19 vaccine mandates
  
  On October 19, 2021, Bongino said that he opposed corporate vaccine mandates, although he said he was vaccinated. He called on his employer, Cumulus Media, to end their vaccine mandate, which had been announced in September. Unvaccinated employees at Cumulus had already been let go on October 11 and replaced.
  
  "You can have me or the mandate. But you can't have both of us", Bongino said on his show. After taking nearly two weeks off, he returned to announce he was negotiating his ultimatum with Cumulus, and starting a fund for former employees of Cumulus fired because of the vaccination mandate.
  
  Brian Rosenwald, a talk radio historian, believed Bongino's request was never much of an ultimatum, seeing little reason for Cumulus or its host to sever ties. Rosenwald commented:
  
  I think it was a cynical ploy, to some extent. There was an incentive for him to stay with them because of that platform, and they've invested a lot of money in launching this show and building it up.
  
  In a December 2021 interview with The New Yorker, Bongino stated that he had been vaccinated for COVID-19, at the advice of his doctor due to his lymphoma.
  
  On October 19, 2021, Bongino said that he opposed corporate vaccine mandates, although he said he was vaccinated. He called on his employer, Cumulus Media, to end their vaccine mandate, which had been announced in September. Unvaccinated employees at Cumulus had already been let go on October 11 and replaced.
  
  "You can have me or the mandate. But you can't have both of us", Bongino said on his show. After taking nearly two weeks off, he returned to announce he was negotiating his ultimatum with Cumulus, and starting a fund for former employees of Cumulus fired because of the vaccination mandate.
  
  Brian Rosenwald, a talk radio historian, believed Bongino's request was never much of an ultimatum, seeing little reason for Cumulus or its host to sever ties. Rosenwald commented:
  
  I think it was a cynical ploy, to some extent. There was an incentive for him to stay with them because of that platform, and they've invested a lot of money in launching this show and building it up.
  
  In a December 2021 interview with The New Yorker, Bongino stated that he had been vaccinated for COVID-19, at the advice of his doctor due to his lymphoma.