A woman wearing a MAGA hat at a "Latinos for Trump" event in Kissimmee, Florida on January 16, 2020 (Image: Shutterstock)
President Donald Trump's recent praise of Attorney General Pam Bondi rubbed many of his supporters the wrong way. Now, the president's base appears to be rapidly losing faith in his administration.
Bondi appeared before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday to answer several hours of questions. The attorney general spent much of the hearing launching barbs at Democrats, and responding to their questions with outright hostility. In a Thursday post to his Truth Social account, Trump complimented Bondi on her performance and said she was "fantastic" in her response to "Trump Deranged Radical Left Lunatics." He also attacked Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), calling him a "Loser, Sanctimonious RINO Congressman," and complained that Democrats focused most of their questions on how Bondi's DOJ handled the release of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents and evidence.
"Nobody cared about Epstein when he was alive, they only cared about him when they thought he could create Political Harm to a very popular President who has brought our Country back from the brink of extinction, and very quickly, at that!" Trump wrote. "In fact, this attempt by the Democrats to take away attention from tremendous Republican SUCCESS is backfiring badly."
Trump's post fell flat with many of his self-described supporters on social media. Conservative influencer Evan Kilgore, who describes himself as an "American Nationalist" on X and frequently reposts content from neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes, responded to Trump's post by declaring: "MAGA is dead."
"President Trump just put out a statement saying Attorney General Pam Bondi did a 'fantastic' job at the DOJ oversight hearing yesterday," he wrote. "Seriously ... is this a f—— joke?"
Another pro-Trump X user wrote that while they "love Trump and [are] happy to have supported him," they nonetheless argued that the president is "not equipped to handle the times we are in."
"We the people voted for mass deportations, justice and criminal arrests, and a complete overhaul of the system. So far, Trump has continued to side with the ruling class," the user wrote. "Whether it’s out of spite or ignorance makes no difference. He’s an out of touch boomer with no idea how to navigate the modern world."
"And there goes the midterms," conservative Twitch streamer Ignys Orora tweeted. "Congrats repubs, all ya had to do is start prosecuting the people in the files, but you rather scream, holler, and distract."
"Trump applauds gross incompetence," wrote conservative National Review columnist Pradheep J. Shanker. "Every Bondi failure is totally owned by Trump now."
"That’s it. I am done. We have a full-blown narcissist in the White House," wrote one conservative X user whose bio describes them as a retired Army sergeant. "Any excitement I had for his administration is replaced with dread, and every moment from here to the end of this year is going to be spent preparing for what’s coming."
"This messaging is out of touch with reality," wrote libertarian videographer Luke Rudkowski. "Whoever is advising Trump is leading him astray and not doing a good job at all!"