Pam Bondi is Trump's mean girl

Pam Bondi is Trump’s mean girl
Imagine if Regina George grew up to cover up for a fascist

By Amanda Marcotte
Senior Writer
Published October 13, 2025 6:45AM (EDT)


(Salon) “Get in, loser. We’re hiding the Epstein files.”

Okay, okay — I can’t prove that’s what Attorney General Pam Bondi said to one of her fellow blonde aides that trailed her into last week’s Senate Judiciary Committee meeting. But her strategy appeared to be mimicking Regina George from 2004’s “Mean Girls” throughout the hearing. Like all Method actors, I assume she was in character before she even hit the stage. Can Rachel McAdams sue the attorney general for this half-baked theft of her iconic movie villain? The resemblance was too strong to be a coincidence: The ever-present sneer. The tantrums. The nasty personal insults. The petulant head motions. The embarrassingly effusive praise for men she’s using for power. She even brought a burn book.

Bondi’s resemblance to the blonde brat from millennial movie lore wasn’t just cringeworthy in a woman pushing 60. It also solves a mystery that’s persisted for months: Why President Donald Trump keeps Bondi around, despite her being MAGA’s favorite scapegoat for the administration’s growing pile of failures. To the screen-obsessed president, a stereotypical mean girl is ideal casting to be his enforcer.

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Trump himself is clearly feeling this pressure. On Sept. 20, he let loose a Truth Social post whining that Bondi “can’t delay any longer” in launching nuisance prosecutions against those who previously tried to hold him accountable for alleged crimes. Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the post was, in fact, intended to be a private message, but it nevertheless served its purpose. Bondi subsequently installed Trump’s personal attorney, Lindsey Halligan, as interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Since then, Halligan has been going down the list, indicting former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James on charges that seemed destined to be thrown out.

Bondi likely knows harassing innocent people isn’t quite enough to please her mercurial boss, thus her ridiculous performance in front of the Senate last Tuesday. Showing off her mean girl skills to Trump involved two adolescent tactics: Tantrums and insults. She was constantly feigning umbrage, often at the silliest moments. When Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said, “This is supposed to be an oversight hearing,” Bondi screeched, “Oversight!?” as if it was the dumbest word she’s ever heard. ..............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2025/10/13/pam-bondi-is-trumps-mean-girl/