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Donald Trump Jr trusts Dog The Bounty Hunter more than FBI in finding Brian Laundrie

The FBI is on a nationwide manhunt to find Brian Laundrie, 23, who is a 'person of interest' in the disappearance and death of his fiancee Gabby Petito

Donald Trump Jr showered praise on reality TV star Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman for his efforts to hunt down Brian Laundrie while blasting the FBI for their apparent ineptitude.

Trump Jr, the eldest son of former President Donald J. Trump, tweeted Wednesday night, September 30, that he had "much more faith in Dog The Bounty Hunter finding this scumbag than the FBI." The federal agency is in the midst of a nationwide manhunt for Laundrie, 23, who is a "person of interest" in the disappearance and death of his fiancee Gabby Petito. Chapman joined the search earlier this week and grabbed headlines after arriving at the Laundries' North Port, Florida, residence to get answers.

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That said, Trump's lack of "faith" in the FBI may have stemmed from the agency's years-long investigation into his father for much of his presidency. The 43-year-old executive of the Trump Organization previously tweeted his disapproval of the FBI ahead of the 2020 presidential election, when the agency was accused of slacking on its probe of a laptop allegedly belonging to Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden.

That said, Trump wasn't the only conservative figure to applaud Chapman's pursuit of Laundrie. Trump-supporting journalist Jack Posobiec suggested that Dog's success would be evidence that federal security agencies were nothing but "a joke." He wrote, "When Dog the Bounty Hunter finds Brian Laundrie before the FBI does will people see how much of a joke the national security agencies are? Go Dog!"

Meanwhile, former congressional candidate Chuck Callesto added, "REPORT: DOG THE BOUNTY HUNTER has found possible "personal items" of BRIAN LAUNDRIE.. THEN: FBI enters Laundrie home today to collect some "personal items" belonging to Brian that will assist the canines in their search for Brian. WHY ARE THEY ALWAYS BEHIND?"

Journalist Cassandra Fairbanks also chimed in, "I am legitimately just searching Brian Laundrie and Dog the Bounty Hunter over and over hoping he’s found him. I like how pretty much everyone has more faith in Dog than the FBI."
 

Chapman has reportedly been receiving thousands of tips since he began his independent investigation on Saturday. One of those tips proved fruitful earlier this week after the bounty hunter said he had information suggesting the Laundrie family visited a campground at Fort DeSoto in Pinellas County, Florida, days before Petito was reported missing.

The Pinellas County Parks Department later confirmed that Roberta Laundrie, Laundrie's mother, had checked into a campground there on September 6 and left on September 8. Her son had returned home from his road trip without Petito on September 1 on their converted Ford Transit van. She was reported missing on September 11. Steven Bertolino, the lawyer representing the Laundries, later confirmed that the missing fugitive had accompanied them on the camping trip. The FBI followed Chapman's tip and collected surveillance footage from cameras at the campground for review.

Speaking to Newsmax host and former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, Chapman said that he generally does not collaborate with law enforcement in the course of his work and wouldn't be doing so in his search for Laundrie as well. “I guess we kind of do the same thing but I really don’t pay too much attention like they don’t pay too much attention to me,” Chapman said. “After 45 years, I don’t call the police, they’re usually called on me – so I don’t know what they’re doing.”

The television personality, 68, said he didn't have avenues for collaborating with government agencies on his searches. “I can’t call up and say, ‘Hey, G-Man, what’s going where’s your leads?’” he told Spicer. “And they don’t call me and say, ‘Hey, Dog, where’s your leads?’ so I have no idea.” Chapman recently added $10,000 to the growing reward pot for information leading to Laundrie's arrest, bringing the total reward to more than $180,000.