U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s handling of the Epstein files, combined with her recent remarks on the limits of free speech under the First Amendment, have contributed to her being the lowest-rated member of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet, according to CNN polling analyst Harry Enten.
Why It Matters
Bondi, who was Florida’s attorney general before becoming the first woman to hold the position federally, has received heavy criticism from liberals and conservatives stemming from the Department of Justice’s lack of new information regarding the Epstein files and their public release.
Following the assassination of 31-year-old conservative activist Charlie Kirk last week in Utah, Bondi said that threats of violence are federal crimes under the U.S. Constitution, as part of a governmental crackdown on “hate speech.” Republicans have cited Kirk’s own First Amendment stance to allow speech, even so-called hate speech, to be permitted.
What To Know
Enten called Bondi’s poll numbers a “disaster,” citing how her net popularity, according to poll aggregates, is -19, the lowest of any of Trump’s Cabinet members.
Bondi is viewed less favorably than Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (-13), Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem (-11), Secretary of State Marco Rubio (-10) and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (-7).
“Pam Bondi was already underwater and I wouldn’t be surprised if she goes underwater more….She is more than 10 points underwater than RFK is,” Enten said Wednesday on CNN. “She is, at least by the numbers that I’m looking at, the least liked member of Donald Trump’s Cabinet—and it ain’t even close.”
Enten cited public disapproval over Bondi’s role in overseeing the Epstein files’ release, referring to pollster Quinnipiac and how just 19 percent of adults approve of the Trump administration’s handling of the situation.
The number is even lopsided for Republicans, with just 44 percent of them trusting the administration when it comes to the files. Just 2 percent of Democrats and 12 percent of independents trust the administration on the issue.
Free Speech Search Spike
Bondi’s name has become attached to the phrase “free speech,” Enten said, resulting in a 186 percent surge in Google searches for the term over the past week to its highest point in at least the past five years.
“Nobody for the most part likes how the Trump administration has been handling them, and of course she’s been in a key leadership role….You’re building a case step by step by step,” Enten said. “Who is the biggest pain in the rear end for the Donald Trump administration for him? Who is he having to answer for oftentimes? Oftentimes, it’s for Pam Bondi. The free speech situation is just another example of that.
“At this point, there’s a reason why Pam Bondi is by far the lowest and least-liked member of Donald Trump’s Cabinet.”
Bondi recently sat down with Katie Miller on her podcast. Miller served as communications director for former Vice President Mike Pence and is married to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.
“There’s free speech and then there’s hate speech, and there is no place, especially now, especially after what happened to Charlie, in our society,” Bondi told Miller.
The remark received blowback, including from conservatives aligned with the MAGA movement.
But Bondi has defended her stance, writing on X on Tuesday: “Hate speech that crosses the line into threats of violence is NOT protected by the First Amendment. It’s a crime.”
She referenced the U.S. Constitution—specifically 18 U.S.C. § 875(c), 18 U.S.C. § 876, and 18 U.S.C. § 115—saying it directly outlaws threats of violence.
What People Are Saying
Savanah Hernandez, a contributor to Turning Point USA, a conservative youth organization co-founded by Kirk, on X: “‘There’s free speech and then there’s hate speech’ is the most destructive phrase that has ever been uttered. And Pam Bondi just said it. She needs to be removed as attorney general now.”
Conservative influencer Mike Cernovich, on X: “We don’t need DOJ to prosecute ‘hate speech.’ Pam Bondi really isn’t ready for this moment. Not to mention the Epstein files nonsense. We need CRIMINAL ACTS by ANTIFA prosecuted.”
Actor Rob Schneider said on X that Bondi “is WRONG on this one.”
“If FREE SPEECH means anything it’s the freedom to say things that OTHER people may LOATHE! Outside of the incitement to violence, FREE SPEECH IS ALL SPEECH! You are either for ALL of it or NONE of it!”
What Happens Next