Dog the Bounty Hunter on ‘woke churches,’ southern border

Dog the Bounty Hunter wants Congress to fund special agents who will apprehend migrants convicted of crimes in other countries who are entering the United States illegally.

The 71-year-old bestselling author and TV personality, whose real name is Duane Chapman, recently spoke with The Christian Post for an interview touching on his new book, Nine Lives and Counting, his faith, declining church attendance and what he thinks should be done about the influx of illegal immigration at the southern border. 

According to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the agency recorded 2,475,669 southwest border land encounters between illegal immigrants and law enforcement officials in 2023. Chapman says he’d like to see the U.S. government support bounty hunters in apprehending migrants with criminal records. 

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Below is an edited transcript of CP’s interview with Dog the Bounty Hunter.

Christian Post: In your book Nine Lives and Counting, you talk a lot about your faith and how you hope people suffering from addictions or people who are hurting will read it. Why do you think your book may be relevant, in light of some recent studies that claim people are less religious and they’re not attending church as often? Why might a book like this be important? 

Chapman: So, whatever they’re saying is a lie. There are people attending churches all of the time. The Bible states, “In the last days, God says, ‘I will pour out my spirit on all people.’ Now, there are a lot of “woke churches” that preach things that are not in the Bible, and I think that those churches are slowing down. And then there was COVID-19. But for the churches that are teaching the Gospel according to God, I think it’s growing. 

As I said in the book, I wanted to leave a legacy, and I got the idea from William Shatner. And I thought, ‘Wow, William Shatner is Captain Kirk, and he is huge. Why would he want to do that?’ 

And so I thought, ‘You know what? When I’m gone and in Heaven, I want to leave a legacy also.’ So I’ve written a couple of other books, and they did very well. And so I thought with this one, you know, if you’re a No. 1-selling author, you get a second bite at the apple. So, this is my third bite. 

CP: What do you want people who read this book to understand about the role faith has played in your life? How do you see God at work in your daily life? 

Chapman: Every day, all of the time. I repent constantly, and I pray constantly. I was just thinking the other day, man, it took me so long. Why didn’t I do this when I was younger? 

I’ve had nine lives and counting, and it’s a lot more than nine. But I wish I had listened to my mother and really dedicated my life to the Lord. Every day is a new dedication. Every day I walk with the Lord, my walk gets better.   

CP: I also wanted to talk with you about the situation at the United States’ southern border, which you recently spoke to Jesse Watters about last month on his show over at Fox News. During the interview, you said that the United States needs to start with “the top of the echelon,” referring to migrants who are felons and have entered America illegally. What are some specific policies that you would like to see?

Chapman: We’ve got to hunt them down. So we’re going to have to get, you know, a group of bounty hunters like ex-marshals and CIA. Their retirement age is 51 and 52 years old, and they’ve still got a lot of life in them. 

We’d have to get the funding, of course. We got to do it one step at a time. But there are already laws on the books that allow a citizen to arrest a felon. 

We’d have to get paid because you have to rent a car, have a hotel, or get an Airbnb, and you have to eat. You have to feed your family while you’re out doing it. So, that could come into the legislation on the federal level.

And it looks like Republicans and Democrats are coming together and saying, “we have been woken up.” The country is always trying to make it seem like Republicans and Democrats are fighting all of the time. 

It isn’t like what the media says. You know, once in a while, you catch them beefing, but it’s like sports teams when they get playing each other. They don’t like each other, but when the game is over, they’re friends. And that’s exactly how the Democrats and Republicans really are; they’re not fighting all the time. 

So, I think they get together, pass laws that give the bounty hunters — or special guys, special agents, whatever they want to call it — funding, and we’re on, we’re off to the races. 

CP: Which administration do you trust most with handling the border? A Trump administration or a Biden administration?

Chapman: Well, I’m not sure. The numbers could show you how many people came across during the previous Trump administration versus the Biden administration. I don’t think they’ll change anything. Everyone has been begging [Biden] to go down there, and he won’t go down there. [Kamala Harris], she’s the border czar, right? And how many times has she been there? 

I mean, I try not to get into trouble. I have a lot of Democrat and Republican friends, and each time you say something against them, you lose friends. And I’m in the business of making friends, not losing them, you know what I mean? But what’s obvious is obvious.