CNN’s chief data analyst Harry Enten on Wednesday revealed that Attorney General Pam Bondi is the least-liked member of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet — and “it ain’t even close.” (Check out his segment below.)
“Who is the biggest pain in the rear end in the Donald Trump administration for him? Who is he having to answer for? Oftentimes, it’s for Pam Bondi,” he said.
Bondi, who’s faced intense criticism over the Department of Justice’s handling of the files related to Jeffrey Epstein, is dealing with a fresh wave of backlash for suggesting the DOJ would “absolutely target” people for alleged hate speech.
On Tuesday, she seemingly walked back her controversial comments, telling Axios that freedom of speech is “sacred” in the U.S. and her office would “never impede upon that right.”
Enten noted that weekly Google searches for “free speech” have increased by 186% this week compared with the average amount over the past five years.
The top trending topic alongside free speech, he said, is Bondi.
Enten added that the attorney general’s net popularity (the percentage of those who view her positively minus the percentage who view her negatively) is “underwater” at -19 percentage points, declaring that he “wouldn’t be surprised” if that figure sinks lower due to the fresh wave of backlash against her.
Bondi’s net popularity is lower than that of other key Trump Cabinet members like Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (-7), Secretary of State Marco Rubio (-10), Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem (-11) and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (-13).
The attorney general’s comments — made just days after Charlie Kirk’s assassination — were sharply criticized by The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board, which asked if “a basic understanding of the First Amendment” was “too much to expect from the nation’s Attorney General.”
“What a disaster for Pam Bondi and, therefore, if I’m Donald Trump, I’m just going, ‘What the heck is going on here?’” Enten said.