You can usually bet that someone will be both complimented and insulted simultaneously when former reality TV star and current headline-making machine of a president, Donald Trump, takes the mic. During his marathon three-and-a-half-hour cabinet meeting on August 26, 2025, that is precisely what happened. Attorney General Pam Bondi was the target this time, as she was the victim of a backhanded “compliment” regarding the way she looked.
Moments after mocking Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for seemingly “[ageing] a hundred years,” Donald Trump quickly shifted his focus to Bondi. The president gave a hammer while oddly announcing that he “doesn’t like to comment on people’s appearances. “I look at Pam. I would never say she’s beautiful. Because that would be the end of my political career.”
Wait, what? So, he doesn’t discuss appearances while…talking about appearances?
He also said he would never claim that Bondi is pretty, but he basically said it anyway. People on social media noticed the irony right away. “‘I would never say it’ (as he says it)” snarled one X (formerly Twitter) user, while another wrote, “Does it anyway, makes it extra creepy.” Observers noted that this is typical Trump double-talk.
President Donald Trump has been caught up in his own jokes before. In fact, he has frequently referred to Bondi as “beautiful” in public. When real estate star Katrina Campins tweeted in November 2019 that Bondi was “a beautiful lady,” Donald Trump responded, “I agree, Katrina, Pam Bondi is a great woman!” At a Women’s History Month event in March 2025, he went one step further and referred to Bondi as a “beautiful, strong, wonderful woman.”
Which is it, then? She is gorgeous, or he can’t say that? This is a classic example of the “say it without saying it” strategy that Trump’s critics have grown accustomed to, and it seems that he is trying to have it both ways.
BREAKING: In an insane moment, Trump confirms that he will use his power to compel Pam Bondi to go after people who ask him mean questions. “We’ll probably go after people like you because you treat me so unfairly.”
Fascism is here, folks. pic.twitter.com/djlxbYfZTI
— Really American 🇺🇸 (@ReallyAmerican1) September 16, 2025
Bondi is not the only woman subjected to Trump’s confusing compliment system. Just this past June, he called her “beautiful” to White House correspondent Hariana Veras and quickly added, “And you’re beautiful inside. I wish I had more reporters like you.”
On the other hand, he has also made blunt jabs at Kamala Harris. Trump made fun of her TIME magazine cover in August 2024, saying that she was “the most beautiful actress ever to live.” Not really, though, as the illustration had been constructed to look more like Melania Trump than Harris. He argued to be “much better looking” than Harris in front of a rally crowd just a few days later.
In other words, Pam Bondi’s awkward cabinet meeting moment is just the latest example of Donald Trump’s long-standing tendency to mix flattery with insult.
Trump hired Pam Bondi to protect him from the Epstein Files.
They both have a very dark history with Epstein.
They’re both guilty.
There’s no other way to put it. pic.twitter.com/nzV6IDSUYy
— Not Your Average Liberal (@Matthewtravis08) August 9, 2025
Also, even though he pitched what he said as political wisdom, many people found it unnecessary and highly awkward. The lesson seems obvious for Bondi, who has been the target of rumors and fashion criticism and now this high-profile “compliment”: being part of Donald Trump’s inner circle may sometimes end in praise that seems a lot like roasting!
