The View‘s Ana Navarro shocked her fellow panelists as she revealed that she used to be 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 dropped out of the AG nomination as he deals with sexual assault and sex trafficking claims.

‘Pam Bondi, I believe she’s a dangerous pick because she supported Trump’s false election claims,’ Hostin said. ‘She was involved in the efforts to overturn the results and so that is now the person that’s going to be chief 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 would come to Miami,’ Navarro said.

‘We drank a lot together. I liked her a lot. She’s not a kook. What’s a little election denialism between friends when…’

Navarro was then interrupted by her fellow panelists, with Sunny Hostin saying ‘election denialism is a very big deal.’

‘I don’t think we need to minimize someone like that being who is supposed to be the people’s attorney she’s going to be Trump’s attorney,’ Hostin continued.

‘Listen, everything in life is relative,’ Navarro added.  ‘There is no accusation of sexual harassment or assault against her.’

Then she conceded that Bondi ‘hasn’t eaten a whale or stabbed a dead bear cub’ – seemingly alluding to news stories about Robert F Kennedy, who is Trump’s pick 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 from consideration after a federal sex trafficking investigation and ethics probe made his ability to be confirmed dubious.

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

If confirmed by the Republican-led Senate, Bondi would instantly become one of the most closely watched members of Trump’s Cabinet given the Republican’s threat to pursue retribution against perceived adversaries and concern among Democrats that he will look to bend the Justice Department to his will.

Bondi has been a longtime and early ally. In March 2016, on the eve of the Republican primary in Florida, Bondi endorsed Trump at a rally, picking him over the candidate from her own state, Florida Senator Marco Rubio- now Trump’s pick for Secretary of State.

She gained national attention with appearances on Fox News as a defender of Trump and had a notable speaking spot at 2016 Republican National Convention as Trump became the party’s surprising 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 served on 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 at the time said he would ‘love’ Bondi to join the administration. He ultimately selected William Barr instead.

She kept a toehold in Trump’s orbit thereafter, including after he left office. She served as a chairwoman of America First Policy Institute, a think tank set up by former Trump administration staffers to lay the groundwork if he won a second term.