Real reason Pam Bondi's hearing outbursts backfired, according to experts

Attorney General Pam Bondi's aggressive response towards lawmakers as she testified before a House Judiciary Committee hearing has made headlines, with one analyst noting why her approach may have ultimately backfired.

As Bondi defended her and the Department of Justice's handling of the Epstein files, she was snappy and agitated, wagging her finger, and getting into heated verbal exchanges with Thomas Massie, and Pramila Jayapal, as well as insulting Jamie Raskin. She accused Democrat lawmakers of “Trump Derangement Syndrome," and also refused to directly address or even acknowledge Epstein survivors who were present at the hearing.

A performance, The Daily Beast's Joanna Coles, Chief Creative and Content Officer, says wasn't for the public but rather for one person only - President Donald Trump. However, Bondi's combative attitude may not have the desired effect she anticipated.

"Because these hearings, like so much political theater now, are staged for an audience of one: the great and powerful Donald Trump. So while Bondi thought she was playing the role of loyal defender, her sneering responses and burn book takedowns turned her into something else: the Angry Woman. And that is not something her boss would order from Central Casting," Coles wrote.

She then points to how Trump "does not like 'angry women,'" describing it as a "dangerous currency" which is what Bondi was when giving her testimony that included insults and fiery exchanges.

A recent example Coles gave to support her point was when Trump scolded CNN's Kaitlin Collins when she questioned him over the Epstein files.

"You know she's a young woman," Trump said, and then directly addressed Collins. "I don't think I've ever seen you smile."

He added, “I've known you for 10 years, I don't think I've ever seen a smile on your face."

Although we can go further back in time to 2016, when Trump famously called his election opponent, Hillary Clinton, a "nasty woman."

With this in mind, Coles compares this to the "ornamental" women within Trump's family: "Melania Trump, serene and sphinx-like; Ivanka Trump, polished and now conspicuously silent in his second administration."

She continued, "Trump likes dominance. He likes control. He likes television moments in which he is the axis and others orbit smoothly around him. What he does not enjoy is watching subordinates seize the emotional spotlight or, worse, look as though they might combust on live television."

So, given Bondi's "ugly peformance" Coles reckons it could be her last as attorney general and "it's her own fault" if this is the case.

She concluded, "The fix was obvious. If only she had smiled more."

This prediction comes as Bondi continues to face backlash and calls to resign from some Republicans.

Speaking with CNN, Representative Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican, described how she has “lost all faith in our Justice Department. It’s a system of injustice.”

“Attorney General Pam Bondi should resign immediately," GOP Congressional candidate Mike Wilnau wrote on X.

However, it seems Trump is still sticking up for Bondi (at least for now), if his Truth Social post on Thursday (February 12) is anything to go by.

"AG Pam Bondi, under intense fire from the Trump Deranged Radical Left Lunatics, was fantastic at yesterday’s Hearing on the never ending saga of Jeffrey Epstein, where the one thing that has been proven conclusively, much to their chagrin, was that President Donald J. Trump has been 100% exonerated of their ridiculous Russia, Russia, Russia type charges,” he wrote.

Elsewhere from Indy100, Congressman calls for Pam Bondi's resignation in heated exchange, and Democrat representative mercilessly roasts Pam Bondi in five words.

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