The View host shocks audience by revealing she used to go drinking with Trump’s attorney general pick Pam Bondi

The View’s Ana Navarro shocked her fellow panelists when she revealed she was drinking buddies with Donald Trump’s pick for Attorney General Pam Bondi.

On Friday, the panel discussed Trump’s replacement for Rep. Matt Gaetz, who withdrew from the AG nomination amid claims of sexual assault and sex trafficking.

“Pam Bondi, I think she is a dangerous choice because she supported Trump’s false election claims,” Hostin said. “She was involved in the effort to overturn the results, and so that’s now the person who’s going to be head of law enforcement.

But Ana Navarro stepped in and defended Bondi.

“I don’t want to ruin her reputation with MAGA people, but Pam Bondi and I hung out a lot when she was attorney general of Florida and she was coming to Miami,” Navarro said.

‘We drank a lot together. I liked her a lot. She’s not a chef. What’s a little election denial between friends if…’

Navarro was then interrupted by her fellow panelists, with Sunny Hostin saying that “election denial is a very big problem.”

On Friday, the panel discussed Trump’s replacement for Rep. Matt Gaetz, who withdrew from the AG nomination amid claims of sexual assault and sex trafficking.

“I don’t think we should downplay someone like that, who should be the people’s lawyer, she’s going to be Trump’s lawyer,” Hostin continued.

“Listen, everything in life is relative,” Navarro added. “There is no allegation of sexual harassment or assault against her.”

She then admitted that Bondi “didn’t eat a whale or stab a dead bear cub” — apparently referring to news stories about Robert F. Kennedy, whom Trump picked to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

Bondi was chosen by Trump to serve as U.S. attorney general hours after his first choice Gaetz withdrew after a federal sex trafficking investigation and an ethics probe left his ability to be confirmed in doubt.

The 59-year-old has long been in Trump’s thrall and her name was floated as a potential candidate for the nation’s top law enforcement role during his first term.

If confirmed by the Republican-led Senate, Bondi would immediately become one of the most closely watched members of Trump’s Cabinet, given the Republican’s threat to retaliate against perceived opponents and concerns among Democrats that he will try to bend the Justice Department to his will.

Bondi has long been an early ally. In March 2016, on the eve of Florida’s Republican primaries, Bondi endorsed Trump at a rally, choosing him over her home state’s candidate, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, now Trump’s choice for secretary of state.

Donald Trump moved quickly to find a new nominee for attorney general on Thursday, announcing former Florida AG Pam Bondi as his choice to lead the country’s justice system

Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration earlier in the day when it became clear that an ongoing scandal left him without the votes to be confirmed to the Senate.

She gained national attention with appearances on Fox News as a defender of Trump and had a notable speaking slot at the 2016 Republican National Convention when Trump became the party’s surprise nominee.

During the remarks, some in the crowd began chanting “Lock her up” about Trump’s Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. Bondi responded by saying: ‘Lock her up, I love that.’

As Trump prepared to move into the White House, she was part of his first transition team.

When Trump’s first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, was ousted in 2018, Bondi’s name was floated as a possible candidate for the job. Trump said at the time that he would love for Bondi to join the administration. Ultimately, he chose William Barr instead.

She then continued to remain a pillar in Trump’s orbit even after he left office. She chaired the America First Policy Institute, a think tank founded by former Trump administration staffers to lay the groundwork should he win a second term.