Shady Things About Pam Bondi, Revealed By Her Former Friends

Think Pam Bondi has always been a die-hard MAGA proponent? Think again, because according to some of her former friends, the AG's personality has done a complete 180. In fact, speaking to The Atlantic, one of those friends went as far as telling the outlet, "I keep asking myself, 'What the f*** happened to Pam?'" 

It may come as a surprise to some that once upon a time, Bondi was known for being incredibly shy. In fact, some of her friends even began calling her "Pambi" because of that. Bondi's timidness was said to have carried over into her professional life, with one evaluation from her time at the Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office noting, "She unnecessarily becomes too intimidated by difficult, long, or important cases. She sometimes becomes intimidated by some attorneys as well." Former friends of hers from the courthouse backed that up, telling The Atlantic for its January 2026 piece that her newer, more brash personality was a major turnaround and seemed to be directly linked to her ambitions within the Republican Party. 

Bondi herself alluded to that once. In a 2016 interview with Elysian, she admitted to having "a very thin skin." However, she went on to say she'd found ways of compartmentalizing it all. Perhaps it shouldn't be all that surprising, then, that friends of hers told The Atlantic that she became increasingly contradictory as she climbed the ranks in the GOP. Though she'd never expressed issues with gay marriage, for instance (and was even said to have LGBTQIA+ friends), she publicly took a hardline stance against it as the attorney general of Florida. Behind closed doors, though, she was said to have sung another tune, telling a friend, "You know me. I love gay people. You know my heart." Hypocritical, much?

Speaking to The Atlantic, one of Pam Bondi's old friends made no secret of the fact that they believed her new personality had everything to do with her professional ambitions. They also didn't hide that they were grossed out by it. "She went cheap for power. ... Was it worth it?" they quipped. 

It bears mentioning that Bondi has an all-new squad to match her new views. To The Atlantic, one former Trump aide shared that Bondi had referred to the president's Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles, as "my best friend." Bondi herself gushed in an episode of "The Katie Miller Podcast" that she was on a group chat set up by former NASCAR star Danica Patrick. Speaking of the group's conversations, Bondi shared that they'd been brought together by the salacious rumors that seemed to follow them, and revealed of the participants, "It's Danica Patrick, it's Tulsi Gabbard, it's Lara Trump, it's Vani Hari, the amazing food babe, it's Mikhaila Fuller, Jessica Cross, Gabrielle Lyon, the doctor who's amazing, Meghan McCain, and Codie Sanchez." Added to that, Bondi is also married to John Wakefield, and she told Miller that they had tons of couples' hangs with others in the Trump administration.

It's probably just as well that Bondi is in that group chat, because the common consensus among those who spoke with The Atlantic was that she'd burned a ton of bridges. As one told the outlet, "People who knew the old Pam, we just can't resolve it." Likewise, another questioned if they even knew who Bondi was after she became such a fierce advocate for Donald Trump. Time will tell if her new friendships fare better, or whether we'll see another personality change at some point in the future.