Pam Bondi has faced a “MAGA media backlash” after deflecting from a question about Jeffrey Epstein this week by pivoting to the strong performance of the economy, a backlash so fierce that one political expert suspects she might get the boot from President Donald Trump.
On Wednesday, Bondi testified before the House Judiciary Committee, fielding a barrage of questions about her agency’s failure to adequately investigate or prosecute potential co-conspirators of Jeffrey Epstein.
On multiple occasions, Bondi pivoted from questions about Epstein to brag about the performance of the Dow Jones, a pivot that has gone on to be ridiculed in both liberal and conservative media spaces. And, while Bondi may have been sufficiently loyal to Trump during the hearing, the widespread mockery has put her on “shaky ground” with the president, political strategist and expert Mohamad Aly Elleithee said on CNN Saturday.
“She was performing for an audience of one, but that audience of one does pay attention to Fox, does pay attention to internet memes, and if he feels like it's leading to he and his administration being mocked by their own people, that's shaky ground to be on,” Elleithee said during an appearance on CNN’s “The Arena: Saturday.”
“It was a disqualifying performance by someone who is increasingly becoming disqualified by the American people; her approval ratings, the Department of Justice’s approval ratings under her have plummeted.”
David Chalian, host of “The Arena: Saturday,” asked the show’s panel, bluntly, what the Dow Jones and its performance had to do with the House Judiciary Committee hearing. His question was met with a sarcastic quip from CNN contributor Lulu Garcia-Navarro, who sarcastically berated Chalian for asking such a question.
“I mean, oh my lord! This was a disaster. They're making fun of her on Fox News, which that's when it really hurts because that's what the president watches,” Garcia-Navarro said.
“If she was trying to curry favor with him, I don't think that she did a very good job. That pivot to the DOW... I think you can pivot to the DOW, maybe, but not when you're answering an Epstein question! It's a little bit too much of a leap.”